Ultimate Kim Possible
by Ikira Inugumi
Summary: She wanted excitement, change, to be different. But she never wanted this. She could see how it would unfold. Her friends would turn to enemies. Admires would become ridiculers. And her support, in the blink of an eye, would plummet. Kim gazed upon the result of her greatest failure, and in that moment she knew that she had truly lost everything.
1. Chapter I

_Outside gate. _

_Opens pocket to reveal new pet_

_And for the first time she laid eyes on something she had never seen before. _

_'A naked mole rat? Ron ever think about getting a normal pet? _

_like what? _

_Something not naked_ ?

* * *

><p><em>~~Section I~~<em>

The Beginning

* * *

><p><em>Area: Unknown<em>

_Date: July 15, 2006_

_Time: 5:00 p.m._

"Okay, head in the game, Kim. You've done this a thousand times."

With a loud bang a certain redhead broke through a ventilation shaft, prepared for another quick showdown with a certain blue-skinned madman. As usual she was waiting to hear him say those two words she had gotten so accustomed to hearing.

"Kim Possible?"

_'Those would be the words. Now to say something heroic like...'_

"It's over, Drakken. You and Shego are getting a one way trip to Cell Block-D!"

'_Now Drakken says something along the lines of_ ...'

"We shall see. You may have foiled my previous plans, but this time I will be victorious! And the world will bow to the evil genius of Doctor Drakken!

'_Cue the maniacal laugh..._'

"HAHAHAAHAH!MWAHAHAHA!"

'_Here comes Shego_ _with a sarcastic remark.._'

"Yeah Dr. D," The villainous woman interrupted. " Because that's the first time, you ever said **that** before right?"

' _This is usually where Drakken gets distracted by Shego's taunting..._'

"Shego! How many times must I tell you not interrupt me when I'm in the middle of being evil!"

' _aaaand here comes Ron..._'

"Dude seriously, why do you steal? aren't you supposed to be like a super genius or something? Couldn't you just build your own stuff?"

Kim sighed. For six months it had been the same routine. Sometimes it was Monkey fist, sometimes Killigan, sometimes DNAmy, and sometimes it was Drakken and Shego. Regardless of who the villain was, they all had the same result.

' _This is starting to get way too easy. Honestly, sometimes I feel like if I didn't even go after these guys they would fail anyway due to the sheer stupidity of their schemes._'

"Uh hello?" Ron Stoppable said in a worried tone noticing his partners eyes beginning to glaze over. "Kim? Kimbo? KP? You there?"

Snapping out of her sudden daze Kim replied, "Yeah, sorry just got a little distracted. What were we doing again?"A sudden silence filled the lair with all eyes falling on Kim.

Shego was the first to speak. "Wow, Drakken," she said with a big grin. "Even princess is bored with you! Sure you don't want to consider a change in career?"

Drakken growled. However, he caught everyone in the lair by surprise when his lips slowly formed into a small smirk.

"How can I be mad," he asked in quiet tone. "She's right to be bored. Let's be honest: we have been doing this same game for a while now. Frankly it is getting rather predictable and mundane. Wouldn't you agree: Shego? Kim Possible?Ron Stoppable?"

Kim's eyes widened in astonishment. She had never seen Drakken act this way before. It was almost as if the hot-headed and childish Drakken was replaced with a cold and calculating one when she wasn't looking. This new development had definitely gotten Kim's attention.

"I'm sure you want something new," Drakken said almost as if reading her mind. "Here, allow me to grant your wish."

Drakken snapped his fingers and from the floor appeared three sudden oval shaped holes.

This was a forgotten feeling. Kim hadn't felt like this in a while, excitement with just a little bit of fear of the unknown.

"Why don't I show you my most recent development?" Drakken then reveled a device similar to a remote. Pushing a sequence of buttons, out came three familiar looking robots being raised on a platform from each hole.

Robots designed to look like females, each with blond hair with black empty eyes.

Kim's excitement quickly diminished.

"The Bebes?" she asked. "Really Drakken? We have been through this already! It didn't work then, it won't work now!"

Despite her rant, the Blue-Skinned villain remained confident. "Oh we shall see."

Drakken snapped his fingers. The Bebes' eyes turned blood red. they turned their heads in Kim and Ron's direction, as they lowered themselves in a position readying to attack.

"My precious Bebes," Drakken said. "Treat Kim Possible and her friend to a show."

* * *

><p><em>Area: Middleton, Colorado<em>

_Date: July 15, 2006_

_Time: 5:00 p.m._

"Tara, seriously; you have to stop this!"

"I am not gonna just sit back and let you do this anymore, Bonnie!"

The brunette sighed in frustration.

'_How many times are we going to have to do this Tara? How many times before you realize that I am TRYING to look out for you!_'

"Tara, listen to me," the brunette spoke in a demanding tone. "You know as well as I do that it would never work out, all Ron ever thinks about is little ms. I can do everything in the universe."

Tara flinched at Bonnie's harsh words. However she refused to back down.

"She's all he thinks about," Bonnie said. "She's all he looks at. She's practically the only girl he remotely talks to. You know you can't win this. You will never be as important to him as Kim is. Just... let it go, please."

Bonnie thought she had won. However, her confidence fell at the sight of Tara's haughty voice.

"Oh so **now** you're concerned about me," she spoke in a dark tone. "I didn't feel any of that concern when Josh was around."

Bonnie looked away.'_I was really hoping she wouldn't bring that up. Who am I kidding? Of course she would-, that wasn't exactly my proudest moment._ '

"Tara... listen."

"No, you listen! Three months: that's how long you went about pretending like I didn't even exist. Way to treat your best friend! The only reason you even went after Josh is because you knew Kim wanted him. Then once they broke up you planned on getting him as a method of making Kim feel bad. But you weren't expecting him to ask me out were you Bonnie? **Were** you?"

Bonnie looked away. '_This was not how I wanted this conversation to go down. Tara was suppose to listen to me. Not do... this_.'

"When I said yes, I came to you expecting you to be happy. Happy that I finally was starting to move on and find a boy more adapted to your food chain." Tara looked down.

"But no, It wasn't enough for you. It had to be you didn't it. You had to be the one who dated Josh. You had to be the one who made Ron feel like he was never good enough for any girl in the entire school. You had to be the one that caught Josh on the rebound. You and no one else , and you wouldn't have hesitated to cut down anyone who got in the way of that vision... not even me."

"Tara, **please**." Bonnie's struggle to keep composure was evident on her face.

"Three months," Tara said. "Three months of pretending like you still liked me, all the while going behind my back and making all those rumors. Calling me a slut, a whore, the dumb blond. People actually started calling me that, and it was okay now, because you weren't there to keep those harpies off my back."

Tara's face hardened as she stared at Bonnie with resentment. "And then when things got out of hand. Josh felt so bad for me he actually thought it would be easier for me if we didn't see each other anymore. And if that's not enough, two days after he dumps me you finally call asking me to come over. Instead of apologizing, the first thing you do when you see me is give me a list. A list of guys you think would be right for me, and are all high on your little food chain."

Bonnie could tell from the look on Tara's face. She expected Tara to be angry, but not like this. This wasn't just rage, it was sadness and disappointment.

"Tara," The Brunette said. "Listen to me please. I-"

"Fuck you." Bonnie gaped at the blond in utter shock.

"That's right, I should have said this years ago, fuck you. All the times I hung out with you. When you sister's teased you, When your mother ignored it and pretended like you were some happy family. When you always came second place to Kim and felt inferior, When your father would be gone for months on end, doing God knows what."

"Tara, stop it-"

"They weren't fun for me either Bonnie! Did you ever stop and consider what my life is like? What I would have preferred to do with my weekends instead of babysitting you?"

"Tara, calm down-"

"I would have liked to go party you know, or hang out with other boys, or study so people didn't always think I'm an idiot!"

"Tara, please-"

"But no! When push came to shove whatever I wanted always came second to what you wanted. But I didn't complain, I was there for you Bonnie! Because... I thought that's what friends did for each other. Half the time people barely even knew who I was, but the entire school knew who you were, Bonnie!. But it wasn't enough for you was it? Not as long as you couldn't be better than Kim."

' _She's right...'_

Bonnie clenched her fists hard. She could feel her nails digging into her skin. She wasn't sure what to say. She wondered if there was anything she could say. However, she simply could not meet Tara's eyes.

She heard Tara give a weary sigh. "Ever since you were thirteen you were obsessed with Kim. You always complained about being in her shadow, but you never realized you were doing the exact same thing to me. I've had enough, Bonnie. I just can't deal with this anymore."

Tara made for the door but stopped in her tracks when Bonnie grabbed her into a tight embrace.

Tara made an attempt to push her off, however Bonnie refused to let her go.

"I'm sorry," The brunette whispered. "I know I never said it to your face but I'm sorry. Tara... I felt like I was losing you. I can't lose you, you're the only friend I have. Sometimes I feel Like you know me better than my own mother does. Please give me another chance and I swear I will make it up to you."

The silence that followed made Bonnie's heart race. She waited on eggshell for Tara's reply, hoping she would give her another chance. Finally after minutes of hearing nothing she heard Tara give another frustrated sigh.

"You're not talking me out of this," The blond said. "Regardless of the situation, I am going to try and be with Ron. If your really sorry, if your really my friend, then you will do everything in your power to make it happen."

Then, without so much as a goodbye, Tara tore herself away from Bonnie's arms and left.

Bonnie felt cold, sick, and very alone. She stared at the floor, looking at nothing in particular. For some reason she just couldn't find the strength to raise her head.

'_She takes everything from me_,' Bonnie thought in anger. '_ Everything I want she has! It's not enough she's captain of the Cheer squad, not enough she's popular, that everyone likes her, but now she's going to take Tara and make it where I can never see her again. ... No! I won't let that happen. She may have all those things... But I won't let her take Tara. My closest friend... My only friend._

* * *

><p><em>Area: Unknown<em>

_Date: July 15, 2006_

_Time: 5:30 p.m._

"Ron, duck!" The blond headed boy moved as quick as he could, barely avoiding the bone-crushing blow the Bebe would have inflicted if the attack had made contact. The machines weren't simply going after Kim: they were after Ron as well.

It wasn't a difficult fight for the most part. However, something felt wrong. The Bebes were as strong as ever but for some reason they weren't nearly as fast as they used to be. It's almost as if Drakken redesigned them and purposely made them slower.

'_Whatever he did, it doesn't matter. This ends now!_'

The redhead had had enough and was ready to end this once and for all. Taking out her Kimmunicator she was prepared to have Wade hack into the machines. However, As soon as she reached for her pocket, the Bebes stopped dead in their tracks and fell to the ground.

Confused by this development, Kim suddenly realized that neither Drakken or Shego had said a word.

She scanned the entire lair, only to realize Drakken and Shego must have left quite some time ago. Suddenly a huge monitor appeared from the wall and with its activation appeared Drakken's face.

"Hello Kim Possible. I am assuming you managed to last against my Bebe's as I expected you to. I wasn't planning on using this trick until later, however I am afraid you forced my hand. I'm sure you realized my machines are much slower than when you fought with them in the past. Well you're about to find out why, farewell Kim Possible."

Suddenly the Bebe's began to glow a bright and sun-like red. Kim immediately put the pieces together and realized what was about to happen. She turned to the screen just in time to watch Drakken as he brought a smirk to his lips before saying, "You truly were all that."

Kim turn her full attention to her blond headed partner. "Ron!" She screamed. "The Bebes! Get away from them and take cover right now!"

Kim didn't even have time to look at Ron as she shouted the order. She had to move. She had to get away from these things before they went off. Her mind was swimming with thoughts. The entire fight the Bebe's were never really trying to beat them. They were trying to separate them from each other.

It all made sense. The reason they never allowed Kim within Ron's distance. Why whenever Ron got close to Kim one of the Bebes would block his path. If they were together they would have helped each other escape. However, the Bebe's purposely separated them to make sure that would not happen.

Despite the realization, there was nothing Kim could do about it now. If she tried to get to Ron now she would feel the full effect of the blast. Thinking on her feet, she jumped behind a biggest object she could find and waited for the inevitable explosion. however it was far more than that.

The blast was immense. Kim covered her ears to protect from the ear-splitting sound, closed her eyes to avert from the blinding light, and fell to her knees at the sheer tremor of the Bebes' combustion. After minutes of eerie silence, Kim opened her eyes and removed her hands from her ears. Hearing nothing she decided it was probably safe to find Ron and look for Drakken.

However, once she moved back into the direction of the explosion she was greeted with a horrific sight. There in front of her eyes lied Ron Stoppable, Knocked out, lying on the floor, not moving, not breathing, and covered in his own blood.

* * *

><p><em>It was a room.<br>_

_That's the best way to describe it. _

_A tiny little room. In a tiny little house. In a tiny little town. _

_A nice house. Or maybe a bad one. _

_A little bit of both perhaps. _

_What makes its good ? What makes it bad ? Simple. _

_Occurrence _


	2. Chapter II

_Did that guy have monkey paws and feet? _

_Your weird... but I like you_

* * *

><p><em>~~Section II~~<em>

Imperfection 

* * *

><p><em>Area: Unknown<em>

_Date: July 15, 2006_

_Time: 5:20 p.m._

Ron had been working with Kim for almost two years now. All that time together gave him plenty of time to create his own personal system where he would react to certain words Kim would say. It wasn't anything to complicated. Ranging from what she said and how she said it allowed him to understand what moves to make and how soon he should make them. He had never been happier for that, because now it was really coming into good use.

' _Oh crud! That Bebe is heading straight for KP! _'

"Look out Kim!" The redhead performed a grace full back-flip, dodging the Bebe's extending arm in the nick of time.

"I've got it, Ron," The teen heroine said, keeping her focus on the Bebe before her. "Just worry about yourself!"

The fight between Team Possible and the Bebes seemed to have no immediate end in sight.

Ron had come expecting another tag and bag mission with Drakken. However, the blue skinned villain lured them right into a trap.

_' A quick mission. We bust in, Kim and Shego rumble, I play distraction, meet up at Bueno Nacho BOOYAH! But now Drakken's got…._ '

"Ron, Duck!" Hearing Kim's sudden command snapped Ron out of his wandering thoughts.

He dropped to the ground in a fetal position, barely avoiding an arm swipe from a Bebe robot.

_' Whoa! That would have removed a little off the top._ '

Suddenly another Bebe moved within striking distance.

Ron had little time to think of a proper counter. Instead he performed a quick side roll, barely escaping a punch that was aimed for his abdomen.

_' __Something's not right. I remember them being a lot faster._ '

"Ron behind you !" From the sound of urgency in Kim's voice Ron realized he didn't have much time to avoid what was coming.

Jumping as high as he could, he avoided an arm thrust from the only Bebe that was fighting Kim that had somehow managed to sneak up on him. However, while in the air, his body rotated backwards landing him directly on the Bebe's head.

"Whoa! Sorry, my bad!"

In the heat of the moment, he kicked off the robot as hard as he could creating a force which caused it to collide with the other two robotic females, who made a large clanking noise as they fell to the ground.

"Booyah," Ron taunted. " You want some more? Bring it on, The Ron man could do this all day!"

The Bebes suddenly jumped to their feet and faced Ron's direction. Acting simultaneously, all three crouched into a position ready to attack. Ron slowly began to back away form the deadly robotic lookalikes.

"Um," he said nervously. twiddling his thumbs. "You know when I said I could do this all day, I didn't really mean it... KIM!"

The machines sprinted at Ron, ready to perform an all against one strike. However, mid attack they halted their movement and fell to the ground motionless with no sign of getting up.

Ron walked up to the machines with a perplexed look on his face. He carefully began tapping them with his foot to make sure it another trap. After thirty seconds of slightly kicking him, it truly seemed as if they had been powered down.

' _Maybe they ran out of batteries? Guess it doesn't matter, we still win! Better luck next time, Drakken!_ '

Out of habit Ron began walking over to Kim's position. However, during his walk he felt something small gnawing at his shoe. He looked down and saw Rufus jumping around and waving his hands frantically as if trying to warn him.

_' __I wonder what's got the little guy so spooked…_ '

Ron knelt down so he could ask Rufus what was troubling him. However, he suddenly heard Kim's voice giving him what sounded like an urgent command. It sounded as if she had told him to take cover. But he wasn't aware of what he was taking cover from. Suddenly Ron began to feel an odd heat radiating behind him.

He turned around and noticed that the Bebes were beginning to turn a dark red. Soon the color began changing and the Bebe's turned a brighter and brighter red. Ron froze where he was, suddenly realizing what Kim was telling him to take cover from.

' _Move! Move! Get away from them!_ '

It was too late. He knew he couldn't get away in time. However, it wasn't just him that was in danger.

Ron's head snapped back to the floor noticing Rufus was trying to pull his fingers in the direction away from the Bebes. Realizing what would happen to Rufus if he stayed with him, Ron picked up his fur-less friend and threw him as far as he could in Kim's direction.

The rodent chirped and squealed at Ron as if asking him what he thought he was doing.

"Don't worry buddy!" he yelled. "I'm going to be fine! you'll se-"

Before Ron could complete his statement the Bebes simultaneously combusted, drowning out the sound of his voice and covering his body within a hellish blood red flame.

* * *

><p><em>Area: Middleton, Colorado<em>

_Date: July 17, 2006_

_Time: 8:00 a.m._

"OW! Son of a-"

Bonnie Rockwaller was not having the best week of her life. For two weeks now she had been having nightmares. The problem was whenever she woke up she wouldn't remember anything-all she had was a very unpleasant lingering feeling.

' _Jeez, this is getting ridiculous! I wonder what Tara's..._'

" Oh right," the Brunette whispered. "Tara."

She had almost forgotten. Or maybe, she wanted desperately to forget. She had never seen Tara so upset, and from what she could tell the feisty blond was not going to be speaking to her anytime soon.

' _Call her, apologize, do something!_'

The night when Tara left, Bonnie actually considered doing it. It would be a challenge but not impossible. All she had to do was help Ron get up a little on the food chain. With the proper clothes and hairstyle, almost anyone could look good.

'_But you would be taking away the one and ONLY flaw with little miss perfect. Can you really do that? Can you handle the reality of Kim being better then you in every way? Always being handed everything you had to break your back for?_ '

Bonnie clenched her teeth. She knew what would happen if she did this. It wasn't just Tara, it was everything, everything she worked for and had would fall. She was captain of the cheer squad until Kim showed up. She was the leader of all her clubs, until Kim joined them. Not only did she have more skill, but people liked her. Bonnie knew that, she always knew that.

' _If you do this-make Stoppable cool-then you won't have anything left. Kim will have it all, the talent, the friends, the popularity, and you'll just go back to that one girl who's always in her shadow. The wannabe, the girl with no life, the nobody. Can you handle that? _'

'_ She's your friend Bonnie..._'

' _After last night, I wouldn't be so sure about that..._'

_' That's because you hurt her! '_

_' I know...' _

_' So is that it then? Are you going to throw it all away? ' _

"Sorry Tara," the brunette whispered. " I can't do it. I just can't."

"What is it you can't do B? Get into a respectable college?" Bonnie's head snapped into the direction of her doorway. She knew that voice all too well.

" Or maybe she can't get into the proper figure for a woman. She always did eat way too much sweets for her own good."

"Connie," Bonnie said with disdain. "And Lonnie. Is there something you both need? I'm busy right now."

"Oh we don't want anything, **little** sister," Connie said with a hint of ridicule. " Just wanted to check in on you. Had another bad dream again?"

Bonnie stared at her sister in surprise. "How did you know-

"Oh please B," Lonnie interrupted. "It's not hard. You talk in your sleep a lot. So what was it about this time?"

"I don't know," Bonnie said with frustration. "I can't remember them-"

"Not surprising," Connie said with a smirk. "You never were one for brains."

"It's fun to guess, though!" Lonnie said, enjoying Bonnie's obvious discomfort. "Maybe it was about dad. You never could stop asking about him when you were a kid."

' _Shut up..._'

"Or maybe it's about Brick," Connie said. "How do you get dumped by the dumbest person in school?"

'_Shut up..._.'

"Second dumbest Connie," Lonnie said. "Don't forget about her little blond friend."

' _Shut...up.._.'

"Oh yeah," Lonnie laughed. "Tara was it? Oh man, I heard that little fight you two had. Ouch, talk about **ugly.**"

"Really ugly," Connie said, a wicked smirk on her face. "You really should be nicer to your friends Bonnie, I mean if you're a heartless witch all the time they'll leave you. Just like dad did."

' _SHUT UP!_'

Suddenly the threshold of Bonnie's door snapped open, spraying dust particles and wood bits all over Connie and Lonnie's hair, face, and clothes. The two sisters wheezed violently from the dust entering their nose and eyes and fell backwards onto the floor.

Bonnie was so stunned by the door suddenly breaking she couldn't even think of a good remark for her sister's sudden embarrassment; she merely observed them in silence as they helped each other and dusted themselves off.

An awkward silence occurred for what seemed like several minutes. Soon Connie gave a slight cough as she tried to appear as intimidating as she was before the sudden accident.

"That was weird." she said, moving her eyes in every direction away from her little sister.

"Very weird," Lonnie replied still brushing dust and wood chips off of her hair and clothes. "Bonnie, call a repair person to fix this would you? After all, this is your room."

Without another word, the two sisters left the room in a haste. Leaving Bonnie another problem to deal with.

' _Great way to start off the morning._'

Bonnie picked up her cell phone to check the time. However she noticed she had gotten a text message from Amelia. From what she could tell from the way Amelia typed it it seemed urgent.

Bonnie opened the message to find that it contained a link. When she selected it, it took her to some strange online blog. Out of sheer curiosity, she began browsing the posts made by random people. However, midway through the site she began reading posts that made her heart race.

' _Team Possible beaten? A highschooler at Middleton High injured? Is this the beginning of the end... the destruction of Team Possible? '_

Bonnie gaped at her phone, unable to utter a single word.

'_ Oh my God...TARA!_ '

* * *

><p><em>Area: Middleton, Colorado<em>

_Date: July 17, 2006_

_Time: 10:15 p.m._

"Kimberly Ann Possible Where are you! You've been gone for two days! Don't think you won't be in trouble when you get back!"

Doctor Ann Possible, a well known and respected brain surgeon. Known for being a kind of heart and a fairly laid back woman. However, when it came to her children she had a habit of losing said composure.

Ann hadn't seen or heard from her daughter in two days. She knew she went to do a mission involving Drakken, but it was like she disappeared. Ann wondered just what could have possibly happened.

' _She couldn't have lost could she? I mean it's Drakken after all...' _

At first Ann simply believed that her daughter had been delayed. After all it happened from time to time. However, she always called and as time passed Ann was beginning to get more and more worried.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone enter her house. She walked over to see Kim standing in the door way.

"Kim!"Ann raced over to the doorway gripping her daughter in an inescapable hold.

"Where have you been young lady?" Ann yelled, refusing to unlock her arms from around the teen heroine. "Do you have any idea how worried I w-"

' _Blood..._'

Ann had worked as a brain surgeon for a long time; she knew the scent of blood when she smelt it. She released her hold on Kim and stepped backwards slowly. She began observing the teenager's appearance, immediately noticing her daughter's clothes were ragged, torn, with blood stains on her hands and shirt.

"Kim," she said, fear evident in her tone. "What happened? Where have you been? Why haven't you called?"

Kim made no response. She stood motionless before her mother, her head lowered as she stared blankly upon the floor.

"Kim," Ann said, her voice rising from panic. "Kim! Answer me right now!"

However, despite her serious tone, nothing seemed to snap the teenage heroine out of her daze.

"Please Kim...please tell me what's wrong."

Kim moved her hand to her left pants pocket and flipped open its flap. A small rodent poked its head out, observing it's soundings.

"Rufus?" Ann questioned. "Why do you have Ron's..."

'_Oh God no...'_

Suddenly it dawned on her.

"Kim... where is Ron?" To be honest, Ann wasn't even sure she wanted to know the answer to her own question.

Kim began to shake, tears forming her eyes.

"Answer me Kim," Ann tried again. "What happened to Ron?"

Kim finally moved her head up and stared directly into her mothers eyes.

Ann knew from just the way she looked at her, that something terrible had happened.

"Oh honey." she whispered.

"I'm sorry mom." Kim whispered. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

><p><em>It was cold. It was so cold. He hadn't felt this cold in a while. He didn't know why this was. The wind crept its way into the creases of his clothes. He noticed the fog that was gathering. He didn't like fog. It always made it impossible to see anything. <em>

_He exhaled, his warm breathe visible in the chilled air. _

_He could hear something. A calm and blissful sound. What was it ? _

_It sounded like water. _

_Whatever it was it sounded nice. Relaxing even. _

_He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Allowing himself to fall into the relaxing quiet sound. _

_It felt nice. Every bit of it. From the quiet environment, to the relaxing weather, down to the ice-like grip forming around his neck. _


	3. Chapter III

_Oh hey, have you been zapped by the Ravemaster?_

_ I have not, but what a player. _

_He's just some nerd trying to ruin the game for everyone else._

_ Perhaps, or perhaps he is destined to rule Everlot._

_ Some say he is both a mighty warrior and a powerful Sorcerer. _

* * *

><p><em>~~Section III~~<em>

Acquired Strain  
><span>

* * *

><p><em>Area: Unknown<em>

_Date: July 18, 2006_

_Time: 8:00 a.m._

Shego was one of the few people that can say she had seen the best of both worlds. Before she joined up with Drakken she gave the whole super hero thing a try. It was okay at first, but soon she realized that it just wasn't her thing. That and her brother's were not the easiest people to live with. So she became a villain and she never looked back. Despite what people say, the business of villainy was often quite rewarding.

"SSSHHHEEEGGGOOO!"

Today clearly was not one of those times.

' _Oh joy, he's having another episode..._'

Shego slowly dragged herself out of bed and began preparing herself mentally for another day of working with Drakken. Truth be told despite her sarcasm and complements she was somewhat relieved to see Drakken back to his old idiot self. Over the past few days he was acting like a completely different person and the green skinned vileness was having a hard time dealing with all of it.

She finished getting dressed and followed the direction of the voice to a closed room in their lair. After a combination of twists and turns through long hallways and oddly shaped stairs, which Shego could only assume Drakken had designed so it could look more "evil", she finally found Drakken. He was sitting down infront of a large monitor. Shego could not tell what he was looking at, but from the way Drakken looked she could tell he was very absorbed in the program.

' _Probably another one of those stupid soap operas_, _or another Oh boyz concert..._'

"Calm down Doctor D," She said slowly walking up to him. "I'm here. So, what's all the yelling for?"

Doctor Drakken turned his head in Shego's direction. However, he quickly turned back to program he was watching without saying so much as a word to here.

' _Okay he did not just blow me off.._ '

"Yo, Doctor D? you in there? " Drakken made no move and only continued to keep his focus upon the program he was watching. Shego began to grow agitated with Drakken's dismissal of her presence.

"Drakken, hello? I'm talking to you! "

"We have a problem," He finally said. "It seems that I was unsuccessful in my attempts to destroy Kim Possible."

Shego rolled her eyes. "No really," she said, here voice filled with sarcasm. " That's a real shocker. I mean it's not that's just unusual. It's not like any of your plans have failed before right?"

Once again Drakken made no response.

'_Okay this is getting old._ '

Shego raised her hands, engulfing them in a bright green flame, preparing to strike Drakken from behind. However, at the last second Drakken turned up the volume on the program he was watching. The sudden noise adjustment caught Shego's attention and she couldn't help but listen in on what had the doctor so occupied.

***** _We are here at Craig Hospital. Located in Englewood Colorado. Hi I'm Danielle Fisher and this is Middleton Primetime News! If you look behind me you see several other new's reporters waiting eagerly to get their chance at an interview with one of the hospital's doctors. Seems I am not the only one interested in this hot scoop. _

_From what we know it has now been almost one week since the hospitalization of Middleton resident Ron Stoppable. there wasn't much information about his injuries and even less about his current situation. But from what we can gather the boy is a sixteen year old highschool student at Middleton high. This boy's injuries have sparked a lot of attention because there is suspicion that he was somehow involved in a mission with famous teen heroine Kim Possible. Not alot of people knew of Ron Stoppable, but his recent hospitalization has sprung about many rumors. _

_Some say he merely followed Kim Possible while she was on a mission and thorough sheer recklessness ended up getting hurt. Others say it was never about being a hero and this was merely a cry for attention, and a small number actually says this boy is a member of Team Possible and helps the teen heroine on her missions. So far it's not known what his actual relation is to Kim Possible, assuming there is one at all. Regardless, his accident has brought about a variety of bad press and attention upon the once respected reputation of Kim Possible._

_ People are infuriated that the government has willingly allowed these high school minors to go about doing such dangerous and un-lawful things despite their claims at having good intentions. The people have been going strong demanding that Team Possible be shut down, fined, and charged for their continuous acts of vigilantism. While I can't say for sure what will become of Team Possible, I can promise that the overall outcome of these events are bound change both the worlds of the super villain and **vigilante**. _

_This has been Middleton Primetime news, back to you John! *  
><em>

Shego stood frozen in place. Her hands still in the air but her mind completely forgotten about her attempt to attack Drakken. A million thoughts raced through her head, all trying to figure out what all of this could mean. " This isn't good," she said. " This could be bad for us, couldn't it? "

Drakken said nothing. He merely nodded as he stood up from his chair and began to leave the room.

* * *

><p><em>Area: Middleton, Colorado<em>

_Date: July 18, 2006_

_Time: 3:30 p.m._

"I got you some ice cream! rocky road, I know it's your favorite."

A broken spirited blond merely took the ice cream without so much as meeting her friend's eyes or even giving thanks.

Bonnie sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. But right now really wasn't the time to complain. Tara had been shaky ever since she saw the new's report about Ron being hospitalized. She hadn't answered any of her texts of phone calls, so Bonnie had no choice but to go to her house and root her out. When she finally worked up the nerve to come over her house she found her in her bed staring blankly out of the window like a ghost.

It was a little strange...

Bonnie spent the better part of the morning pulling her out of the bed and convincing her to eat something. Tara must have been really worried, cause it seemed as if she had completely forgotten about being mad at Bonnie. Bonnie decided some sunlight would do her some good and managed to drag her to the annual Art's festival in Upperton. However, Tara barely spoke or even acknowledged anything around her. Bonnie really wasn't sure what to do.

"Come on Tara, say something. You really need to stop doing this to yourself." Tara eye's met Bonnie's for a brief instant, Bonnie wasn't sure but for some reason she could tell that Tara understood how concerned she was about her; in her own unique way of course.

"I'm sorry." Tara finally said. "It's just that, I was so ready. I was prepared to give it all up. Be done with this food chain crap once and for all. I could be with a guy that would actually listen to what I said, instead of just wanting some blond haired blue eyed arm candy. I would be able to go to a movie and actually watch it without worrying trying to do something to me in the theater. I had it all pictured in my head. Friends that actually liked me for... well me. Now, all this happens and here I am with you. Right back to square one. Life really has a cruel sense of humor sometimes. "

Bonnie simply stared at the blond, the realization of how important this really was to Tara dawning on her.

'_Some friend you turned out to be...' _

' _It really wasn't my greatest moment was it... _'

' _No, but that doesn't mean you still can't do something about it... _'_  
><em>

"Tara, listen to me, Ron is going to be fine." Tara looked up a Bonnie, a hint of desperation in her eyes. "Really?"

"Yes," the brunette said firmly. "And you know what else? When he wakes up, Kim will be there to look after him."

Tara's face fell at Bonnie's words of "encouragement".

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she asked in a sulking tone.

Bonnie laughed. "Sorta, because for reasons I will never understand Kim actually cares about that loser. They're like a weird family, or at the very least someone that makes Kim look better by comparison."

Tara smiled. "Bonnie please, stop being so mean."

"Stay with me here Tara, I'm trying to make a point . Look all I'm saying is that there like siblings, or cousins and you know what Tara people don't date their sisters or their cousins."

Tara's mouth stretched into a faint smirk. "Actually Bonnie," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "In certain areas there has been a noticeable rise in ince-"

"Whoa, okay Tara stop, forget what I said!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Look my point is their close, but their friends. And sometimes people tend to stay just that... friends."

"You really think so?" Tara asked.

"Totally, and it would probably be easier for them and you, if everyone wasn't always pushing them to get together and have the perfect little life with 3 kids and nice little house up on the hilltop. I mean it's straight out of a bad sitcom. Not to mention what their kids would look like. Last time I checked, red heads and freckles were not a good match."

Tara stared at Bonnie for a moment. "You've thought about this before." She said.

"Yes I have." Bonnie responded without hesitation.

After a few seconds Tara suddenly began to laugh. And despite the brunette trying to stay serious in support of her friend she couldn't help but take part in the laughter as well. The thought of Stoppable and Little Miss Perfect being married and living like Amish people. was just too funny. Hell, the thought of Stoppable actually being able to do anything masculine alone was enough to make anyone laugh.

' _Now that's how you be a true friend... _'

The brunette couldn't help but try to find a way to turn this situation around in her favor. After-all, Kim was probably as vulnerable as she ever would be. How could Bonnie not strike while the iron was hot?

"Do you think Ron would actually want me?"

Bonnie's train of thought was interrupted by Tara's sudden words of never could understand why Tara was so unselfconscious about her looks, it was no secret she was one of the schools hottest girls.

"Of course!" Bonnie said without a moment's hesitation. "Tara for the last time your gorgeous, and when I'm done with you Ron will be wrapped around your little finger."

"But-"

"That's enough, don't worry about Kim. I'll deal with her. For now you just focus on visiting your soon to be man. Just stick with me and do everything I say, little miss perfect won't be able to hold a candle to you in Ron's eyes."

Tara gave Bonnie a huge grin. "That's probably the most encouraging thing you've ever said to me." she wrapped her arms around Bonnie's neck locking her into a hug.

"Thanks Bonnie."

"It's what I'm here for." The brunette unwrapped herself and pulled Tara up. "Come on, there's a sale at Club Banana. And father dearest just gave his little princess a brand new credit card. I heard Brick's having a house party on Friday. We gotta be ready to get down."

The two teen's began to make their way for he store. however, they stopped when they walked into the direction of a concealed man wearing a baggy hood with a leather coat over it. The two teens stood still ,waiting for him to move. However, he simply stood his ground staring directly at the ground. After a few minutes of waiting, Bonnie finally grew impatient and yanked Tara in the opposite direction. However, as they began walking the hooded figures voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Name, Tara Pride. Father, Eddie Pride. Mother, Michelle Pride. No siblings. Description, Caucasian skin, blond hair and blue eyes approximately 5 foot 4 birth mark on her left thigh the shape of an apple. Activities, cheerleader for the Middleton Mad-dogs. Has an obscure obsession with the often rumored to be questionable pop band Justice Reliance . Has bought every single supernatural book novel of the also questionable Sundown book series. As well as a secret diary in which she hold all potential romances she hopes to encounter in her life stashed away in her closet.

"Hey," Tara's exclaimed facing the hooded figure her face blazing red from embarrassment. "How the heck do you know all this?" The man dismissed Tara's presence and focused his attention on Bonnie.

"Name, Bonnie Rockwaller. Father, Damon Rockwaller. Mother, Katherine Rockwaller. Siblings, Connie and Lonnie Rockwaller. Description, light brown skin, green eyes approximately 5 foot 2. No distinguishable birth-mark, however has an Enchanted amulet stored under her pillow. Activities, cheerleader for the Middleton Mad-dogs and takes part in almost every club equivalent to teen vigilante amateur Kim Possible. An odd and also questionable obsession with her is recognized. Possible signs of stage three hero worship. Possible signs of stage six inferiority complex. Possible signs of quote on quote, 'Playing for the other team'. Must remember to investigate further. "

"Okay stop!" Bonnie face's was now also red from embarrassment. "Who are you? "

The man removed his hood revealing a small smirk on his mouth. "My meekest apologies. I like to do that for fun. I was given strict instructions not to interfere. However, I simply could not resist such an opportunity."

"What?" The two girls asked simultaneously.

"Yes, you see. You both have caught the eye of some very interesting people. And through sheer curiosity I've decided to through in a little more entropy to this already ticking time bomb. "

The man performed a graceful bow to both Tara and Bonnie.

"Nice to meet you both," he said. " My name is Agent Will Du."

* * *

><p><em>Area: Craig Hospital, Englewood<em>

_Date: July 18, 2006_

_Time: 10:00 p.m._

Being a Doctor was not a fun as it was cracked up to be.

Or least, it wasn't as fun as Nathan was led on to believe. That's what he got for watching hospital sitcoms back to back as a child.

No less then a few weeks into medical school and his perspectives were already shattered.

He had seen people in their twenties fall succumb to varying misfortunes. As well as elderly decrepit patients come in for an annual by-pass. As strange as it seemed. The expected outcome had a tendency to pull a complete one-eighty. And today was no exception.

The most recent Englewood patient, Ron Stoppable. Flew into the hospital not by an ambulance but by a helicopter. It wasn't police that pulled into the hospital. But an array of men draped in thick dark suits. With what Nathan could only describe as I.D. tags on the right side of their suite pockets. When they showed up they didn't say a word to anyone.

They pulled up with a bloodied blonde haired teen on a stretch bed. And simply stood still in the hospital as if they were waiting for something. Soon enough, the medical head of staff showed up to greet them. They did not have a conversation. They did not even shake hands with each other. The head of staff simply showed up, observed the boy, and uttered a single statement.

_You're age requirement is getting younger by the year. _

After that he simply walked down the hallways. The other men simply followed him. There was no mention of it again for the rest of the day. Not until, the day after. When the head of staff made a public announcement. To not mention a single word about what they had seen. Not to their friends, not to their family, and most importantly not to the media. Nathan didn't understand at first. But soon enough, there they were. No less then twelve hours after the boys hospitalization, a hoard of people sporting cameras, speakers, and microphones.

A path was cleared for the doctors and nurses. As instructed, no one said a word about what had happened. Not that there was much to say. but the people standing around the hospital were nothing short of persistent. But luckily even they were only allowed so much ground. It was still a hospital after all. So they weren't permitted to do anything that could slow down their work. Which made it a little easier to get past them.

That boy was one lucky man. No scratch that, he was beyond lucky, what happened to him was nothing short of a miracle. That's the best way doctor Nathan could think to put it anyway.

' _A few cuts, a couple of second degree burns, and a little blood loss. Whatever happened to him should have been alot worse.'_

"Hey Nathan, how long you plan on taking a break?"

Marla, a nurse who had just recently started a few days ago. Her timing was impeccable to be honest. What a way to start a career.

"Sorry Marla," Nathan said. "I'll get back to work in a couple minutes. Promise." The time had gotten the better of him. This job had a tendency to take a toll. And his recent curiosity was also starting to get to him to.

"That new kid again?" The nurse questioned. "Can't say that I blame you. That kids practically the talk of the town."

This caught Nathans attention. "What you mean ?" He asked.

"I didn't say anything about him." Marla said defensively. "I know how to keep my mouth shut. But he's gotten a bit of a reputation. Apparently the kid got into an accident on some kind of mission."

"Mission," Nathan said. "Like a secret agent or something?" It'd make sense. The guys who walked in that day looked like they had came right out of a bad action movie.

_Bricks of Fury bad..._

"Something like that. From what I heard, the kid was pretending to be hero or something. and ended up getting caught in an explosion or something."

Nathans eyes widened at this news. "An explosion? Like a bomb?"

"Worse," Marla began to grin. "A robot. Strange right ? Apparently he was standing just a few inches from a robot before it blew up. A **robot** Nathan...A flipping robot! It's insane." Mara said with a slight laugh. However her humor seemed wasted on Nathan. As he began to process just what she was telling him.

"It's unbelievable." He said. "Something like that, isn't just insane. It's down right unbelievable.

Marla began to pout. "Well of course it is," She said. "It's all just word of mouth Nathan. Of course none of its real. You really gotta learn to lighten up."

"Marla do you have any idea how hot the average flame combustion is?" Nathan asked suddenly.

"No." Marla replied. Her eyes fixed on him in a suspicious manner. "But why—

"Well neither do I," Nathan interjected. "But from what I've seen on the movies and years of studying in medical school. There is one scientific fact I believe all of mankind can agree on."

"Which is?" Marla asked.

"Fire is **hot**..."

Marla clamped her lips shut...She had no response for that.

However her silence or looks of disbelief did not stop the good doctor.

" Not only is it hot. Under the right conditions, it's strong enough to turn the human body to a crisp. Also, according to what you just said. That boy was not only standing near an explosion but a metallic one. Meaning not only did the fire get him. But the bits and pieces and metal that were torn off from the blast must have got to him to. Like shrapnel from a grenade."

"Yeah," Marla said. "Makes sense."

"No it **doesn't**," Nathan spoke. "Because if what you said was true. Then that kid shouldn't be like...like how he is now. If what you said is true, if what the gossipers said was true. Then he should be in a lot worse shape then that. The heat and metal Marla, the heat and metal should have added even more injury to his body. Tear it apart, dare I say shred it like cheese."

"So what your saying," Marla asked. "That his injuries should be worse." Marla said.

"No,"Nathan spoke in a low whisper. "I'm saying that if what you told me is true. Then he shouldn't even be alive..."

* * *

><p><em>"Who are you ?" <em>

_A young man said. From what he could gather. The boy was talking to him. _

_Funny, he had been there for a while. But he could not remember seeing anyone prior. _

_"Are you talking to me?" He asked. _

_The man nodded his head. He had a average build. _

_Light brown skin, but very long dark hair. It reach down past his shoulders. _

_He could not make out what the man was wearing though. The fog shrouded a majority of his figure. _

_"You should leave." The man said. "You don't want to be here when it comes."_

_"When what comes?" He asked. _

_The man turned around and began to walk away._

_"A very bad day." He whispered. _


	4. Chapter IV

_Mom hey it's me again. yeah yeah I know i just called three minutes ago._

_But I just thought I would ask one more time... _

_CAN YOU PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE ?!_

* * *

><p><em>~~Section IV~~<br>_

Past Grievances

* * *

><p><em>Area: Unknown<em>

_Date: July 18, 2006_

_Time: 5:00 a.m._

The world has always been a bit of an enigma. Mysterious and almost impossible to understand, it's origin and the creatures that inhabited it. Some dislike secrets and only wish to find out the truth. For others, they provided a little excitement in everyday life. All in all secrets often seemed as though they existed to encourage on thing.

Curiosity.

And if it weren't for such a thing, organizations like Global Justice might not even exist.

And by association Will Du would be out of job.

So thank goodness for man's obnoxious obsession for sticking his nose in other peoples affairs.

Sometimes it felt that like that was literally all GJ agents were getting paid to do.

It wasn't even time for breakfast and Will was waiting around in a deadzone to collect more information. Information on someone who he didn't really know on a personal level. Didn't really care for. And most likely would never again speak to for the rest of his life.

Or at least he hoped he wouldn't.

The one thing Will could do without when it came to this job, was human interaction.

Some people were just too much.

"I never had you panned for the watching the sunrise type."

"Speaking of being too much." Will muttered.

The agent blinked at his words. "What was that?" She said.

"Nothing," Will replied. "And I'm not watching the sunrise. It's a little over five o'clock in in the morning. We won't be seeing the sun anytime soon."

"Is that right," The woman responded. "Sorry, my geography isn't what it used to be."

"This hardly counts as geography," Will said. "It's just basic knowledge."

"Maybe to people like you. But people like me don't know this stuff off the back of our hands."

"No," Will said. "Cause you'd rather be filing your head with trivial information.

"Close," The red headed girl replied. "but we'd rather fill our head with stuff we actually care about."

"And by 'stuff' you mean current boy bands and horrid romance movies being made from novels at the fourth grade reading level."

"Well we need something to pass the time as we wait for the next popular dance instruction song to come out. Lord knows we've just about bleed the viral video well dry."

Will was almost tempted to smirk at her. "Do you ever get tired of being shameless at your lack of brain activity Marla ?"

The red headed girl gave a large grin. "Not at all," She said. "When I got smart guys like you to be around. I don't have to use my brain for anything."

Will scoffed. Marla always did have an odd sense of humor. "So tell me. What do you have to report?"

"Well I infiltrated the hospital that was holding that Stoppable kid. And after twenty-fours of extensive research. The Global Justice infiltration objective has detected...absolutely nothing! Yeah us !"

Will scoffed at her. "I'm glad to see you are enjoying yourself Marla," He said. "But you were hired to do a specific job for a reason. And now you're telling me you really don't have anything at all to report?"

"Nothing of interest," Marla said. "Just your typical average stuff. Mission gone horribly wrong, large consequences to follow, yatti yatti yadda, patient should be dead." That caught Will's attention.

"You know," Marla spun around turning her back towards Will. "Pretty basic stuff."

If she was trying to get a reaction out of him. She would be sorely disappointed. Will's focus could never be broken.

"Dead?" He asked.

"Yes sir, Mr. tight belt belt. According to doctor Nathan he should not have survived such an encounter."

"Well, that is comforting thought. "

"Isn't it? Who doesn't love a good mystery every now and again ?"

"Is this all you have gathered?" Will asked. "What about the men who brought the patient in."

"Nothing on that end either. No one seems to have a strong idea of who the men were or where they came from. All I know is that when things went south at least five of them were able to show up to Possible's rescue a good half hour before we were."

"That shouldn't happen." Will said.

"No I guess it shouldn't." Marla replied.

So basically they were right back to square one. Which wasn't knowing anything.

"Nice way to spend the people's tax dollars though." Marla continued. "But if you don't mind Will, there's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Well, you had Global Justice agents trained in medical assistance infiltrate the hospital to keep an eye on Stoppable correct?"

"That is correct," Will said. "in my experience I find that people often try and take advantage of an enemies moment of weakness. However brief. Stoppable isn't a sought after man, in any category. However, he has still managed to anger a short list of very interesting and unstable people. If they are watching, I can't think of a better opportunity for them to move in on him, then this little scenario."

"Then why only use a few agents to watch over him? Why not replace the entire staff, it's not like our agency couldn't afford it."

"Tax dollars remember," Will said. "We don't need the government thinking that what we do is a waste of was hard enough convincing the Doctor Director not to invest billions into building an HQ that was capable of flight. For some reason, something that huge just screamed, 'Please shoot me down'. And I'd rather not have to go through the ordeal of constantly laying off hard working agents only to re-employ them once we rebuilt the compound."

_Which would have been happening every other week, if comic books were a reliable source of reference._

"Oh I see," Marla said. " Like using a gun to kill a fly, no reason to overkill."

"More or less. And luckily our security is still airtight. No one will be able to get past our agents. And there's so system that can hack our database."

"Um…."

"Um," Will spoke in surprise. "Um,** what**?"

" I knew I forgot to tell you something," Marla slapped her hand against her head. "I don't know how to say this really but we had an unexpected visitor, the other day."

**"What?"**

"It was the oddest thing, one minute she was there and the next she was gone."

"Describe her, **now."**

"She's not from America," The agent spoke. putting her finger to her chin in thought. "That's for sure; if I had to guess I would swear she was from somewhere in Asia."

"Asia?"

"Yup, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear she was from Japan."

"Japan, "Will spoke in confusion. "Who would want to come all the way from Japan to see Stoppable?"

"That's what I would like to know. There isn't an extensive amount of information on any Super villains involving him. Let alone any that live in that part of the world. And it's the oddest thing to. She didn't just slip past us, she managed to bypass our security completely. Didn't even know she was in the hospital until we saw her starting to leave. She must have some sort of training background in stealth."

"Interesting," Will said. "Make sure to look into this. For now keep a low profile. And stick to the corners of the room. If you see her again, don't lose her. Make sure you find out everything you can about this girl. Assuming she's even a girl in the first place. And when you do get back to me. And don't **forget** this time."

Marla straightened her hand, and gave what seemed like a joking salute. "Yes Sir," She said. "I will contact you immediately in case any information is made known to me sir. In time you may be able to interact with this woman. Possibly even make a friend. It's no secret that you are long overdue for one at this point. After all she seems to be the only person who shares your interest in being completely unnecessary. Not to mention your uncanny talent of being so dull that you quite actually vanish to the public eye."

Will clamped his lips shut. He had no response for that. Instead he simply shot the girl an agitated glare before leaving the premise.

"I'll take your silence as you dismissing me." His back was turned to her, so he wasn't able to know for sure. But for some reason, Will could just feel the self satisfied smirk that was creeping up Agent Marla's face.

* * *

><p><em>Area: Pride Residence<br>_

_Date: July 18, 2006_

_Time: 3:45 p.m._

"Agent Will Du?"

_' I can't believe I just said that with a straight face...'_

The strange boy said nothing. He merely smiled at Bonnie's confusion.

"Who are you," Bonnie asked. "No wait, better question. What parent would be so cruel to name their own kid that?"

The boys eye's twitched slightly at her remark.

"Not good at paying attention are you?" he said in a demeaning tone, a smile evident on his face. "I cannot say I am surprised, you are a cheerleader after all."

Now it was Bonnie's turn to twitch.

'_He did not just call me dumb_ '

"Excuse me," Tara said. "Do you have some kind of problem or something ?"

"Paying attention," he spoke. "It is a skill that I notice many people in high school are not very familiar with. Especially cheerleaders. They simply don't need to use their brain as much as others do."

"Okay, you're being really rude." Tara said. "Can you please just go away. We were actually having a nice day before you showed up."

Bonnie was never known for benevolence. She also cared very little for it. So for the time being, she was grateful that Tara was here. Otherwise this conversation might have gone in a completely different direction.

" Miss Pride I was speaking to your friend," He not only refused to acknowledge Tara's presence. His manner of speaking belittled her very presence. "And I assure you nothing is more rude then interrupting a conversation. I hope you can imply better form of house training in the future.

Tara's face was starting to turn red and her eyes shot wide open. This man was something else.

The brunettes eyes stared intently at the boy. He returned her looks with mere indifference. He didn't know who they were. And he didn't seem to care that much to learn. But none of that mattered.

It was one thing to pick a fight with her. But no one was going to speak to Tara that way.

"Listen you creep," Bonnie hissed. "I don't know who you think you are to talk to us like that. But its time for you to go."

For a brief second, Will's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh," He said. "That's surprising. It appears you do have a pressure point outside of parental issues." An arrogant smirk found its way on Will's lips.

"What," Tara repeated. "What are you even talking about you weirdo? "

Tara was losing her patience. And truth be told Bonnie was not far off. And to think, she actually thought Stoppable was the most annoying thing in the world. This boy was on a completely different scale.

"I'd worry less about my pressure points and worry more about yours." Bonnie said in an annoyed tone.

Will's looked at her in slight surprise. "And why is that?" He asked.

"Because everyone has different emotional points," Bonnie said. "But luckily some of them are universal. Men especially have a very convenient weakness located closely below their belt." The brunette strode a few steps towards the boy until she was within spitting distance of him."And how unlucky for you," She whispered dangerously. "That your universal weakness is now well within range of my foot."

For the first time, Will's eyes widened in genuine surprise. Also quite possibly a little bit of shock. Clearly he didn't expect her to figure out what he meant so soon.

' _Not as dumb as you think huh? _'

"You are, very surprising aren't you?"

"Looks can be deceiving, " Bonnie confidently replied. "You really shouldn't generalize." She wasn't sure how she knew. But she could just feel the grin growing on Tara's face. She always did like seeing this side of her. "Now then," She said. "I think its time for you to go."

The boy took two steps back, and met Bonnie's eyes. His calm and calculating demeanor returning to him. He appeared to finally be on his way before hesitating mid stride. he turned towards Bonnie and Tara one last time.

"You'll be hearing from me ladies. Make no mistake." And with that, the mysterious stranger was finally on his way.

He resumed walking in quick and steady strides until he soon disappeared into the city of Upperton. The two girls stood in silence watching the path where the mysterious boy had walked, unable to speak or remotely comprehend what had just happened. "What the heck was that about!" Tara screamed, snapping Bonnie out of her thoughts.

"I don't know," the brunette said as she turned her head to Tara giving her a stern look." But he said we'd be hearing from him. So I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

"Well I think he's crazy," The blonde said, crossing her arms as if refusing to debate the matter. "We live in a city. We see crazy thing and people all the time. Heck, we live in Middleton, our definition of weird is enough to make Chicago seem like the east side of Mississippi. So I say we just forget this ever happened. Forget it, store it away to the deepest and darkest parts of our minds, and just pretend the past few minutes never even happened—

A loud vibration was heard from Tara's purse. She reached into her bag and pulled out her vibrating phone.

"Sorry," She said, slightly embarrassed. "My mom is messaging me, I'll just be a second"

Tara took a brief glance at her phone. When she did, Bonnie could have sworn she saw almost all the color drain from her face. Tara froze in place, staring at her phone as if it had just grown a human mouth.

"Tara," Bonnie spoke slowly. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Tara slowly lowered her arms but seemed to have made a vice like grip on her phone. Her nails, beginning to dig into the plastic material.

"It's my mom," She said. " She said that just a few minutes ago, someone delivered a large package to me."

* * *

><p><em>Area: Stoppable Residence <em>

_Date: July 18, 2006_

_Time: 7:30 p.m._

David rushed home faster then he could ever remember.

The peaceful bliss of a drive home be damned. It was a hard days work, matched only with haunting silence afterword.

And it did not dawn on him until just a few days back, just how much he would miss the usual noise that swept the halls of his house.

Regardless of whatever people liked to say about themselves. At the end of the day, old habits died hard. Usually, they never really die at all. They just find ways to stay dormant in people, looking for an excuse to spring to life. And there has never been, or never will be a habit worse then gossip.

An action so cruel David was surprised it wasn't a sin. Maybe it was, he'd have to make a note to look into it in the future. Either way, in the course span of a few days, his job had transformed from a peaceful escape to a nightmarish jail cell. It was three days since his son's hospitalization. And just two since the press and media decided to do everything they can to make him and his wife look like even worse parents then Rosemary.

It wasn't hard for him to figure out that people were talking about him. The news of his son's hospitalization was delivered to him the day of. But since he was transferred to a hospital so far away he would need to cleared out his entire day to go see him. Which was not problem. David and his wife were prepared to go see their son the minute they received the call. Unfortunately they were given the news just a minute too late.

Because the second the couple had made it to the front door, they were bombarded by a wave of blinding lights and questions. David would have been impressed with their timing if he weren't so infuriated. The police didn't show up until a few hours later, and when they did, they recommend the two stay put until things calmed down for a bit. Unless they wanted to drag all this attention with them to a domicile of the sick, injured, and elderly.

It wasn't something he wanted to do but David could see the logic in it. He knew how bad people could get when they wanted and story. And the last place something like that should ever be is a hospital. So in the time passed, David had to rely on whatever news Anna could deliver him on his son's condition. And God be praised, that he wasn't in any form of critical condition.

For the time being, news like that was the best he could hope for. Anna promised she would do everything in her power to keep an eye on Ron's condition. Even though she didn't work for the hospital she had her own share of connections. And clearly they were good enough to at least get that much information delivered.

The news reporters weren't nearly as active during the later evening. David was grateful for that much alone. He was able to drive into his garage without nearly as much attention then he was returning in the later mid day. However, once he made it inside his house, the usual daunting quietness was not there. Instead, there was the sound of what hear like an argument coming from his living room.

Curious, he made his way towards the source of what seemed to be a heated argument. Through the hallway he could tell that the room itself was pitch black. However, there seemed to be a large color of blue and white that seemed to be shining from the area.

Oh of course, it was just the TV.

"_I'm talking about a family that stands back and allows a **teenage** high school student to parade around at all hours of the day fighting dangerous criminals. Not to mention while wearing cargo pants and a tank top. That alone says attention seeking. In my day women didn't have to try that hard to go against the crowd._"

"_Kim Possible doesn't play a hero Miss Gale. She **is **one. She's done more then enough to help us. She's saved people countless times and asks for nothing in return._"

"_Except free transportation all around the world, without the proper identification to allow her on foreign soil._"

"_Well yes but –_

"_As well as absolute pardons for any involvement in government related matters, or international policies within a court house._"

"_But she's never actually__–_

"_Not to mention diplomatic immunity._"

"_She does not have that! You're reaching now Miss Gale._"

"_The Knights of Rodigan say otherwise._"

"_This is ridiculous. Those people were villains. Kim Possible stopped them all. She's a hero!_"

"_That's your opinion Miss Fisher, and I'll have you know I have my own definition of a hero. And it involves trained adults handling sensitive matters. Not children who decide to go around fighting crime, because gym class isn't exciting enough for them._"

David did not watch the news often. But he had heard of these two reporters. Danielle Fisher of the channel 52 news. She was relatively new in her career. But from what Adam could remember of her, she seemed to be very fond of Kim Possible. And prior to everything that had happened just a few days ago, she was definitely among friends in that matter.

The next was an employee who was much more of a veteran in her line of work. Summer Gale, of the channel 6 news. She had been at this game for some a time now. She was much more ahead of Daniel in her years. But it wasn't simply her looks that drew people to her. Summer had a very direct and strikingly honest personality that drew people to her. He wasn't above saying what was on her mind, and even resorting to petty commentary when she felt it didn't take away from whatever it was she was trying to say. However this was also probably the reason she bounced back and fourth from news stations in the course span of her career.

None the less, the woman was a survivor. She always held her ground. And when everyone was coming out to support Kim Possible and what she was doing. Summer Gale was one of the very few people who weren't afraid to disagree with her actions. She did not back down, no matter how many times she was ridiculed. And now, that stubborn streak was finally starting to work in her favor.

"_Your protests against Kim Possible have always been strange Miss Gale. Perhaps your interests lie more towards people who cause freak blizzards and radioactive snow men hmm?_"

_Note to self, hug this woman if I ever meet her. _

Gale's lower lip tightened slightly at Daniel's comment. It was obvious that she was trying her best to stay calm on TV. If David knew anything about the news, or the way the machine worked, it's that these two have more or less become the figure heads of the argument at this point. One one side, that supported Kim Possible you would find Daniel. On the other side you would find Gale.

"_They weren't radioactive_," She straightened her hair, and applied lipstick, as if she really needed any more. "_Besides there's was no harm done._"

"_Yeah,_" Daniele said sarcastically. "_You get your screen time and the children get a free day out of school, you're quite the role model._"

"_Let's get back to the point shall we,_ "Gale said. "_Kim Possible breaks the law, she has no authority to do half of the things she does. Going across the globe at all times of day and night. Skipping class, handling dangerous weapons. What kind of example does this set?_ "

"_She saves people, and no one's complained about it before. Funny how everyone suddenly has a voice after she loses a fight._"

"_Just because the voices weren't loud, does not mean they were never there Miss Fisher. And this is more then just about losing a fight. It's about getting innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. It's one thing to suffer the consequences of your own bad decisions. But it's a whole other matter when innocent people are forced to suffer for them._"

Daniel fidgeted in her seat. This was clearly a sensitive topic in the entire argument. And from the looks of it, Daniel had no way to defend or justify what had happened to Ron. Of course she didn't, who on Earth could ? So with that Daniel did the only thing anyone could do for the sake of wining an argument.

By getting off topic.

"_Miss Gale, it's no secret that you've been against Kim Possible ever since she revealed you for_—"

"_I have nothing against Kim or her team of delinquents._ "

"_Right_, "Danielle crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows in obvious disbelief at Summer's statement."_Because you creating that anti-Kim Possible website was not personal at all._"

"_That website,_" Gale interrupted. "_Was a ban against all vigilantes not just Kim_–

"_Then why is there a **giant** picture of Kim Possible on the cover of your homepage?_"

"_That doesn't necessarily mean—"_

A bright light appeared and spread over the screen before snapping together and disappearing. In a matter of seconds, the TV had turned off. And David was alone in the darkness. Nothing to do but reflect on everything he had just heard.

"You shouldn't watch that," A voice from behind him whispered. David turned to see his wife standing in the threshold of the kitchen doorway. Her body leaning against the side of the wall. "Nothing good can come from watching this." She looked hallow. Her appearance gave off the impression that she didn't do anything the entire day but sleep.

"Is that warning from experience?" David asked sadly. He hated seeing her like this. She hadn't been to work in over two days. And she barely spoke to him or anyone since everything started.

"His wife leaned her head as if in thought to what he just asked. "Maybe it is." And with that she turned and simply left him to himself. David had half a mind to go after her. To talk to her and tell her that everything would be okay. To do something that would reassure her. But he's never been much of a liar. And it didn't take a genius to see that things were changing. Even if their son was okay, things weren't going to be the same.

Nothing was ever going to heal right from this.

* * *

><p><em>The forest was just as wet as the beach was. <em>

_And for some reason, it was not nearly as pleasant. _

_There was no structure, no grand design, no overall picture to follow. _

_Nothing except a door. Large and wooden, with a golden doorknob installed in it. _

_With just one word etched into its wooden features. _

_Truth _


	5. Chapter V

_"Kim you ate all his Naco."  
><em>

_"Ha, sorry about that."  
><em>

_"Hey no big, we're all buds." _

* * *

><p>~~Section V~~<p>

As It all Falls Down

* * *

><p><em>Area: Pride's residence<em>

_Date: July 18, 2006_

_Time: 7:00 p.m.  
><em>

"Agent Will Du?"

_' Nope, **still** can't believe I said that with a straight face...'_

After their run in with mystery man. Tara and Bonnie rushed to her house so fast, they had to flirt their way out of at least three speeding tickets. Tara had been in such a panic to get home, that it seemed she had actually forgotten about being mad at Bonnie in the first place. Not that the brunette was complaining. When they arrived at her house, they rushed upstairs to find a large box neatly closed and wrapped up sitting on her bed. Neither Tara nor Bonnie made a move when they laid their eyes on it, they both merely stood frozen in place gazing at it as if expecting it to move or open itself.

' _Oh man this is beyond creepy! Maybe we shouldn't do this, maybe we could just ignore it. Throw it away, yeah I mean just because you get a box doesn't mean you should always open it, look what happened to Pandora! _

Tara's frantic talking still buzzed in her ear. But the Brunette could not blame the girl. This was nothing short of odd. And despite everything going on, Bonnie just couldn't help but think. That it was another day in Middleton, Colorado.

This city came with its ups and downs.

The ups ?

While her dad wasn't winning any father of the year awards. He was still rich. Which meant Bonnie was still rich by association. That was always a nice perk. Bonnie never thought being rich automatically made her a better person. More so it gave her the opportunity to be. Granted she did not always take advantage of the opportunity as much as she could. But still she had the opportunity. and at the end of the day, that's what money was. That's what it represented, opportunity.

So yeah, money ? Definitely an up!

But of course with the ups came the downs.

The downs ?

"I can't believe this. Who was that guy ?"

Everyday weirdness.

"Um, excuse me? Bonnie you there?"

"Yeah I'm here," Bonnie replayed. "Relax Tara, you're letting this get to you more then you should."

But to be honest, sometimes the weirdness had its perks. Watching Tara freak out for example.

"Oh really," She said. "I'm surprised you're so calm. This is Middleton. This place isn't just a lure for weirdness Bonnie it's a magnet. A **freaking** magnet! That on the inside is actually made of other magnets! And **chainsaws **! "

_Wat..._

These past few days had not gone at all the way Bonnie had expected. Originally all she wanted to do was cheer up Tara. But in the course span of just a few hours that all went south. Before she knew it, she was speaking with some weirdo in the middle of the street. Now Tara was so freaked out she didn't want to be left alone. She would never say it, but Tara's indirect implications weren't exactly subtle. Before she knew it, she was driving her back to her house and calling her mom to let her know that she'd be missing for a few days. Bonnie didn't mind though. It was always nice to get away from her sisters, and Tara's parents were pretty cool.

"I think we should call the police or something." Tara said. "Who knows what could be in there. could be a bomb for all we know. Or an air born toxin that could kill us. Or rot our skin from the inside out. Or turn us into zombies. Man eating zombies that are like fifteen feet tall, and have no skin. And emit steam from their skin."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. She enjoyed watching Tara's overactive imagination get the better of her. But sometimes the stuff she said was simply too ridiculous. Honestly, skinless man eating giants.

"Nice imagination you got there." Bonnie placed her palms together and separated them for dramatic affect.

"Why was he smiling?" Tara suddenly asked.

"What?"

When he was speaking to us. He was insulting us and speaking indirectly. But it looked like he was smiling a little bit.

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know," She said. "Maybe he was just a dip."

"Tara slightly chucked. "Maybe," She said. "He was kind of rude wasn't he."

Whatever was going on, one thing was for certain this was related to Possible. She wasn't sure how, but she just knew it. Weird stuff, always happened to them before. And every time it did Little Miss Perfect was never too far away.

The guy called himself Agent Will Du, saying that was defiantly going to take some getting used to. The name alone was almost too ridiculous to even be real. He could have just as easily have been a stalker. Or some kind of creep. Seriously the only reason the two girls ignored opening the box was because they were afraid of some guy busting through Tara's window wielding a meat cleaver sporting a hockey mask.

That was the sad thing about living in Middleton. At some point weirdness was going to find you. One way or another. With that in mind, Bonnie took a deep breathe as she prepared herself for what was about to come next. "Tara," She said. Catching the Blonde's attention for her daydreaming.

"Lets open the box." The look on the blondes face was almost too fumy. It was times like this Bonnie remember that she knew the color and detail of Tara's eyes simply through moments like these.

'"Um...Tara?" If there was a contest for reacting facial expressions, this girl would be a close runner up.

"I know this is a little new for us, " At the start of her own sentence, Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Oh what am I even saying. No it isn't, None of this is new for us. This is so basic, I might as well call it Tuesday."

"No way," Tara said. " I don't like this Bonnie. This guy is bad news."

"Maybe," the brunette pondered. "He's a guy. Guys are usually bad news...or Stoppable. But aren't you just a little bit curious?"

"No," Tara quickly replied. "I mean, I've had enough experience with Kim's missions to know that this freak fighting saving the world stuff just is not for me."

"Says the girl who wants to date Middleton's biggest loser."

"That's totally different...hey! Stop that!"

Bonnie eyes widened. "Stop what?" She asked innocently.

"You know what," Tara's blue eyes narrowed at her. "We are not going to do this again."

The brunette gave a heavy sigh. "Fine," She said. "We won't do this, at least not now. It's pretty clear that there's no way I'm talking you out of this. So..."

Tara raised her eyebrows. "Sooo," She said cautiously. " So what?"

Bonnie rubbed her nose. "I guess," She said."I guess we'll just have to make the best of this. There's some kind of leverage here. I just have to figure out what it is. Then there should be no problem."

Tara frowned. "Leverage," She said. "Don't tell me you're still thinking about Kim?"

"Obviously." Bonnie replied. "Right now she's the only problem."

"Bonnie she's always the problem. She's the problem with just about everything with you."

"And who's fault is that?" She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not the one that makes her wake up in the morning and decide to ruin things."

"Ruin things," Tara asked. "What things ?"

"Everything," Bonnie seethed. "She ruins **everything**. I mean look at what's going on Tara. The media is going crazy right now, some weirdo's talking to us in the street, who knows **way** more about us then he should. And Let's not forget about what happened to Ron."

Tara stared at her in silence. Her face seemed somewhat lost in thought.

"He's in the hospital," Tara said. "He's hurt because...

"Because of Kim," Bonnie said. "He's in the hospital because of her. You know as well as I do that he would have never even been in that situation if Kim hadn't convinced him to do it. Convinced him to be her precious little shield."

"It's not like that Bonnie."

"Oh yeah? Where is she? He's been in the hospital for three days. Three days Tara! And just where is Little Miss Perfect?"

Tara couldn't meet her eyes. Even she had trouble arguing with her on that point. "That doesn't mean she doesn't care though." She said weakly. "She just—

"Cares about herself more," Bonnie interjected. "She cares about everyone in her life. But she cares about herself just a little bit more. And why shouldn't she? She's only spent just about her entire life, being told by the entire world how perfect and special she is. And you know what, for once I think I might actually find myself sympathizing with Stoppable."

Tara's eyes shot wide open.

"How?" She asked.

"Stoppable," She said. "He, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, is kind of getting the short end here." The brunette began walking towards her friend.

"I know we haven't talked about this before, but what's happened today isn't the end. You know it isn't. Whatever it is that's going on with Kim and Stoppable, this isn't the end of it. It's going to happen again. Like it always does."

"A magnet for weird," Tara finally said. "Like it's always been."

"No," Bonnie said. "It hasn't always been like this. It's been like this ever since **she** decided being a cheerleader and being the president of just about every school club wasn't good enough for her. This is because of her, and now look at us. Now we're paying for it. And it's not the first time either, remember that freaky fish thing that wanted to mutate us ? Remember when she was stuck to my hip for like an entire day? Remember that freaky fish thing that came back a** second** time?! "

"The freaky robots," Tara said. "There's always robots. Or henchmen, why is that. Is there someone who's running a business on this stuff ?"

"I wouldn't be surprised." Bonnie said. "Who wouldn't try to make money with people like her running around.

Tara looked away and chewed her lip. "Yeah but that doesn't necessarily mean—

"Yes it does Tara," Bonnie interjected. "Everything weird that's happened is tied back to her somehow, even now. "

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do, and you know it to. You're just too nice to admit it. And because you don't want to get on her bad side."

She griped Tara's shoulder at tight as she could looking deep into her eyes.

"It's her Tara, she's the problem. It's always been her, and it's always going to be her. Unless we do something about it."

Unknown to the girl's attention, a small crack had formed in the center of Bonnie's drawer mirror.

And it grew larger with each word she said.

Until it stretched from one corner to the next.

"I know this is a lot to put on you. You didn't ask for this. All you want is to date someone who you think is going to like you just for you. There's nothing wrong with that. But sweetie there's something you just have to learn."

"And what's that?" The blonde whispered.

"Sometimes life isn't fair."

_Connie and Lonnie_

"Sometimes you're going to be given things you just don't want."

_"Mom and dad." _

"And sometimes no matter what you want..."

_Her..._

She took another deep breathe trying to calm herself.

"Sometimes it just doesn't matter what you want. Not as long as there's someone else who wants the exact same thing you do."

_Sometimes there's just not enough to go around_

"You want Ron all for yourself Tara. But that's never going to happen. Not as long as **she's** still there."

The silence was nerve wrecking. But Bonnie needed to know what her answer would be.

She seemed conflicted. It was clear that Tara wasn't expecting their conversation to take such a sudden turn. In just a few minutes they had jumped from one topic to another entirely. After a solid minute of staring at the ground, Tara finally seemed to muster up the courage to meet her friends face.

"Even if I did agree with you and I'm not saying that I am. But lets just say, I might actually agree with you a little bit. What does any of that have to do with this? How does making Kim our enemy, my enemy, help get us out of this weird situation? How does it make our lives any less abnormal? And how does it get me any closer to Ron?"

_Got her..._

A crooked smile crept on Bonnie's face.

"Kim **is** the problem," Bonnie said. "For years now, she's been the one thing in m...in the way."

"And now she's in your way to. "

She tightened her grip on Tara's shoulders.

"It's not complicated Tara," She said. "We just have to get **rid** of her."

* * *

><p><em>Area: Possible Residence<em>

_Date: June 19, 2006_

_Time: 5:30 a.m._

Cold, that's the only feeling Kim could use to describe it.

Or more so, it was the most in control description she could come up with. Words like 'suffocating' made it seem a little too...real.

And right now, she didn't want that. She didn't want real. Real was too much, real was unwanted. Real, made her vulnerable and put her at risk. And right now, that was the last thing she wanted. Not that she knew what she wanted in the first place. The past few days have been nothing short of a blur for her. _  
><em>

Very long and painful blur. But a blur none the less.

Kim didn't want to look at the clock, she didn't need to. If how she was feeling was any indication, it was probably really early in the day. For the past few days she practically slept the days away. She wished she could keep doing it but unfortunately being on a bed for that long is not good for your back. She tried to ignore the pains as long as she could. But this time it was undeniable. She was barely even sleeping anymore at this point, and while she was awake just lying in bed starting at nothing made time move even slower then it already was.

'_Ron…'_

That's one thing she didn't want to think about. Not to say he was a thing. He wasn't, she just...

'_Might as well get up…'_

Sleep wasn't on Kim's side since Ron's accident. She was having a hard time being so isolated. She knew she shouldn't stay in her room for so long. But she was having the hardest time even contemplating going outside. She didn't want to see her parent, she didn't want to see Ron's parents, she didn't even want to see Rufus. She didn't want to see anybody. Or maybe she simply couldn't.

She dragged herself from the covers of her bed. This was going to be another suckish day. That much was definite. She made a small note to open her window more often. The room was starting to smell.

Truth be told she was a little surprised how easy it was for her to sleep. She had expected a horde of reporters showing up at her door by now. So far, there wasn't that much. A few phone calls, a few people ringing her door bell. But the amount of people there, was surprisingly low. She had expected a lot more all things considered.

And suddenly she heard a beeping noise, motioning in an upbeat rhythm. The sound was coming from her drawer.

_The Kimmunicator_

Kim hopped across her bed with as much control as possible. Fast movement after lying down was rarely a good idea. She stumbled a bit and bumped up against her wall. She temporary lost balance, and almost fell to the ground. But she didn't stop her motion, she simply continued to search for the device. Soon enough her hands grab held of the familiar object and she pulled it from a pile of worn cloths.

Her hand hesitated for a brief moment. She hadn't realized it at the time, but she didn't even hesitate to find the kimmunicator. She had just spent the past few days locked up in her room, trying to avoid any form of interaction. But the sound of this device was enough for her to jump back into old habits. Like nothing had changed.

_But things had changed._

She gave a weary sigh. She didn't have to do it. There was no one forcing her to answer this thing. And it's not like Wade wouldn't understand if she didn't want to talk. No matter the mission, everyone needed a little time off. Who wouldn't need time off after what she went through. She could just put it back down, and pretend like she never heard anything. She could just crawl back into bed, and ignore the rest of the world, for just a little while longer. Her mom was bringing her food so she never had to leave her own room. And her family was staying away from her for a while, so it's not like she couldn't do it. Yeah, all she had to do was put it, pretend it never happened, go back to bed and...

_Push the button_

" _Kim! Oh man, It's so good to see you...whoa. You just get out of bed or something ?_ "

"Hold on Wade," Kim said, running her fingers through her hair. "Room's a bit of a mess, and right now I'm pretty sure it looks a lot better then I feel."

_"Why,"_ Wade asked. "_Your rooms always been clean before._"

"Yeah well a lot of things aren't how they are suppose to be right now. Welcome to bizzaro land." She turned to direction to Wade with pleading eyes. "Please tell me you have good news. Have you heard anything about—"

" _Sorry Kim,_" Wade spoke apologetically. "_I don't have any news about the hospital."_

"Why? Wade, you're the best hacker I know. You're a genius. Why can't you get anything from this place."

"_Truth be told, I don't know_," The tech genius said. "_There's some tight security in the hospital. I tried getting through it, but it's updates every other hour. And it's locked up in layers. So once I finish getting through five different walls, the minute I get to the next one it updates and sets me right back to square one._"

"I never thought I'd actually see the day that you wouldn't be able to hack something."

The tech genius gave a low chuckle at the oddness of the situation.

"_That makes two of us," _He said. "_I'll keep trying, but they way they set this thing up is pretty nice. It's simple but effective, even the fastest locksmiths have trouble getting through the locks if they keep changing. It's almost like it was designed to be a labyrinth. Almost like they_—

_Like they expected someone to try and do this..._

"So if you aren't her to tell me about..." The red head gave another weary sigh. Defeat did not become her and right now she was just racking them up. "Why did you call?" She said impatiently.

Wade's expressions grew tense; he stared at her without speaking a word. He didn't have to, Kim knew that expression all too well.

"Wade," She whispered. "You don't seriously think I'm going to agree to this do you. There's no way I'm going on a mission right now."

"_Kim this is serious, your site got a hit on the site from an old friend in Europe_"

"Wade," She said sternly. " No, tell them I'm sorry. But the answer is no."

"_Kim—_"

"I not going to Europe Wade. I'm not going **anywhere.** Not with everything that's going on. My parents would kill me."

_If the media doesn't beat them to it, or worse Ron's mother..._

The tech genius fell silent. As far as Kim was concerned that was him conceding. And just as she was about to deactivate the device, something caught her attention. An image that Wade had uploaded. He didn't say anything or even warn about about the image he was about to upload. He just did it almost as though he knew what she was going to say.

Wade was rarely this persistent, so Kim figured she might as well see what was so important. The image itself was blurry. There wasn't any fine detail about it. But there was something that caught her eye. It seemed like there was a woman in the center of it. But that wasn't all there was. Her body, it seemed familiar. There was something about her, and the more she looked at her the more certain she grew. But what confirmed it was her hands.

They were green.

Almost as though they were on fire, or emitting some type of green glow.

And then Wade spoke. _"I got a feed from one of my sources,_" He spoke tensely. "_Apparently a mercenary was hired. Wanted in over eleven states, an insane criminal record. With a unique power to emit an intensive heat from her body. As well as draw a unique green glowing flame around her hands. _"

_No way...  
><em>

"Wade," She spoke, her voice beginning to break. "Are you trying to tell me that—"

"_That's right,"_ Wade replied, his face serious on the matter at hand. "_We know **exactly** where Shego is…"_

* * *

><p><em>Area: Craig Hospital, Englewood<em>

_Date: June 19, 2006_

_Time: 6:00 a.m._

Another ever so lovely day in the exciting life of doctor. Who didn't like getting up so early in the morning, they barely had any time to eat a proper breakfast? No one ? Yeah, that's what Nathan thought as well. Morning shifts were a killer, no pun intended. It often felt like he spent the better part of two hours just waiting for the sun to come up. And since he lived in Colorado, sometimes he wouldn't even get that much.

"Good morning doctor." A nurse of mid height and short black hair approached him.

"Good morning Carrie," Nathan gave a loud sigh as he began to stretch. "Ready for another thrilling day of morning shifts."

"You shouldn't complain so much," The nurse said. "There's a lot of people who would kill to have your job."

"Yeah well there's a lot of people who would also kill for a million dollars, that doesn't stop rich kids from finding new ways to make their own lives miserable."

Carrie laughed at his remark. "Do you always have to have a response to everything?"

"Only when I'm in a naturally charming attitude." He moved closer towards the nurse. "And speaking of naturally charming."

Carrie gave him a playful grin. "It's a little early to be doing this don't you think?"

"Not really," Nathan responded. He slowly crept closer towards her. "I don't really mind."

"Oh really, because just a few seconds ago, you were singing a very different tune."

Nathan scoffed. "Seconds, minutes, hours, years," Nathan began to move his hand around Carrie's shoulder. Once in a firm position he began to pull her body closer to his. "My dear sweet Carrie, don't you realize that time is an illusion. One that pails in comparison to far more important matters."

"Is that right," Her voice dropped to barely an audible whisper. She moved her arms up Nathans shoulders slowly wrapping them around the back of his neck. "And just what **are** these important matters doctor."

A smirk made it's way to Nathans face.

"Human instinct of course."

Carrie laughed. "That is quite possibly the worst innuendo I've ever heard."

Nathan lowered his head to hers. Their lips just mere centimeters from each other.

"If it looks stupid and it works, then it isn't stupid."

" _Doctor Richard, calling Doctor Richard you are needed in room 221 B, immediately_. "

_Oh you gotta be kidding me..._

Before he had a chance to respond Carrie had already began unwrapping herself from him. He made no effort to hide his disappointment. Which only prompted another laugh from Carrie.

"Go on good doctor," She said playfully. "I'll be here when you get back. And the sooner you get done, the sooner we can pick up where we left off."

That was all he needed to hear.

He was just a few floors from where he needed to be. He was in no mood for the elevator so he simply ran up the stairway instead. By the time he arrived, he was greeted to more of an audience then he was expecting. Everyone seemed to be scrambling about, as though ten people had just flat lined simultaneously.

Nathan grabbed the arm of the nearest person he could. "What's going on?"

"The patient," A nurse said. "Mr Stoppable."

"Yes ?"

"He's waking up!"

Nathans eyes shot wide open. "What," He said. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes sir, he's finally waking up!"

Being a doctor was often a very difficult job. At time's doctor Richard would see things he really didn't want to. Patients who were marathon runners fall succumb to sickness. Others who had the physical fitness of senior citizens while they were still in their twenties. And that wasn't even the worst of it.

However, at the end of the day, one thing always bothered Nathan. The pain of having to see someone with a promising future, check into this damn hospital only to never check out again.

If faith was on his side, then he just might not have to see that. Not today at least.

Nathan wasted no time, he raced to the patients room. This was something he needed to seem for himself. He had to know that the boy was really going to be okay.

When he got there, he noticed how still he was. He stood in the threshold of the door. Watching his every move. There was nothing at first. But soon enough, there it was. It was slight, a mere twitch of the fingers, and a slight wiggle of his toes. A variation in his breathing patterns, and then finally the twitching of his eyelids.

Nathan, drew closer to the patient with each movement. His eyes dead locked on the young boy.

Soon a pair of dark brown eyes became apparent underneath a mop of blonde hair. They seemed dazed, unfocused, hollow for some reason. But soon enough, they began to adapt to the light of the room. taking in the features and details of everything around them. And then, when they were finally done, they locked right in on Doctor Nathan.

The patient stared at Nathan for a solid minute. His eyes slowly starting to blink over and over again. Which Nathan couldn't help but find a little humorous, for very wrong reasons. He started to shift slightly, making himself more comfortable. And than that's when he started to push himself off of the bed. Trying to position his weight in an upright position.

_He really looks out of it. Okay take it nice and slow. Just make sure he's still able to talk. _

His first attempt was messy. He almost slid too much to the side, and fell off the bed. Being in bed for over forty hours would do that to just about anyone. He needed to get his balance back under control. Every time his body began to tilt, he would have to use his arm to stabilize his position. This continued for a solid three minutes before it seemed that he had finally gotten the hang of it.

It took a toll on him though, Nathan could hear him begin to breathe heavily once he was finally in a comfortable spot.

_Now's probably the best time_

"Um excuse me, Mr. Stoppable ? " The patient made no reaction. His head hung down and his hair fell forward. Shrouding a majority of his face. Strange, Nathan had just seen the patient a few days ago. But his hair...if he didn't know any better he could have sworn that it had grown. It wasn't just that, the patient looked different.

_ His body, it looks...bigger for some reason. _

"Mr. Stoppable," The doctor tried again. "How are you feeling ?" Again the patient made no reaction. His movements had halted, as he continued to breathe heavily. He seemed more drained then Nathan expected him to be. He had been resting since his check in at the hospital. So Nathan wasn't sure why he seemed to be so tired. What on Earth could he have been doing while sleeping that could tire him out so much.

And the more he looked that patient, the more certain he grew. His hair length had definitely increased. And his body had also grown. But how, he hadn't been able to eat anything directly. Nutrients delivered to the body through a tube certainly did not have this kind of side effect. It wasn't significant, Nathan definitely would not have noticed it unless he had done a physical on the patient during his initial check in. But his body seemed as though it had grown in muscle size. The more he stared at him, the more apparent the size difference over the past few days became.

A mystery for another day, for now he still needed to make sure the patient was fully alright. He took another step towards the patient, hoping being closer to him will make communication easier. And when he took his first step, the patients head immediately shot up towards the doctor. His eyes barely visible in between the messy mop of blonde hair. But then Nathan saw something else he also thought was strange. He could have sworn he saw a slight color reflection in the patient's eyes.

"Hello Mr. Stoppable," Hopefully third time really was the charm. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Doctor Richards. You don't know this, but I was given the task of watching over you. I am happy to see that you are well. " He didn't get paid enough for this job.

The blonde said nothing, he simply stared at the doctor with an empty gaze.

"Do you know where you are," Nathan asked. " Your in a hospital Mr. Stoppable. A very fine hospital I might add. You were injured, and you were out for a while. In fact you were starting to scare some of us but your getting better now."

Again, the blond said nothing.

"Do you know how you got here, or what you were doing before you came here?"

The blonde only continued to stare at the doctor. He seemed to be lost in thought on something. Even though his eyes were locked on Nathans figure, it almost seemed like he was staring right through him. His mouth began to move though, as he muttered something too silent for Nathan to make out.

_Sunny ? Is that what he said ? Why would he be thinking about the weather at a time like this ?_

Doctor Richards was beginning to grow even more worried then ever about his patient. "Is something wrong Mr. Stoppable? I want to help you, but I need you to talk to me."

The patient looked up at the doctor, his face riddled with confusion. After several seconds of absolute silence he finally spoke.

"That name... "

The doctor went silent, studying his patient for several minutes.

"Stoppable...Is that my name? Are you talking to me ?"

_Oh no...no no no_

The patient looked away from the doctor and stared blankly into his lap.

"I don't remember," He said vaguely, his figure sinking back into his bed. "I don't remember anything..."

* * *

><p><em>"You're late."<em>

_"For what?"_

_"You're reunion of course. Everyone's waiting for you." _

_"Reunion? Will I have to meet people ? " _

_"Yes." _

_"Are they friendly ?"_

_"More or less..."_

_"What...what if I don't want to? "_

_"That's a shame._

_"Why?"_

_Because what you want is irrelevant... _


	6. Chapter VI

_"Kim Possible on behalf of Global Justice, you have our undying gratitude for your assistance."_

_"No big just doing the teen –"_

_"Hero thing," Ron interjected. "Yeah yeah that's all nice and done. Now if you don't mind Kim has a cheer leading election to win."_

_ He grabbed Kim's hand and starting pulling her towards a random corner in the room._

_Wait do we know where this corner goes? _

_"Uh Ron…" Kim said hesitantly._

_"Not now KP," Ron said. "You have to be there to win the competition, or else Bonnie will never let you live it down. "_

_"Mister Stoppable," The director spoke. "Global Justice holds a variety of transportation methods. Each more efficient that its predecessor._

_"Kay," The blonde teen responded. "But can any of them get us back to Middleton in a few hours?"_

_The Doctor Director smiled. "Please, we can have you back in Colorado in a matter of minutes"_

_"And besides, that's not an exit," Will said, pointing towards the corner Ron was puling Kim. "It's a trash compactor. It would still get you to Middleton, just not in a very attractive way."_

_Ron stopped moving instantly, only to stare at the shadow with the hidden door, he could not see. "Uh…" He said dumbfounded. "Um…Maybe we should let you guys show us the way out. "_

* * *

><p><em>~~Section VI~~<em>

The Ripple Effect_  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>Area: West Palm Beach<em>

_Date: July 21, 2006_

_Time: 10:30 a.m_.

"That will be $12.95 sir! I hope you enjoy your meal! And as always, thank you for choosing West Wing Laws Chicken. Where we strive to satisfy."

_Oh God..._

She hated everything. Did you mention that ? Because she did. She really hated everything.

The people, the food, her job, everything...

Her life sucked, so much right now. And upon handing the tray of greasy food to the customer. All she got in return was a simple nod.

No respect, no appreciation, no tips. This whole thing was just a big pile of nothing.

The only time anyone would actually notice her was when they came in saying...

"Hey aren't you Adrena Lynn ?!"

_Dang!_

"Oh my gosh! You are her aren't you!? OMG!?"

No not this, not now. She didn't have time for this.

"I thought you looked like her. I mean from a distance you look similar but when I get a good look at you..."

Lynn didn't bother waiting. She made a quick dash for the kitchen and was on her way out of there.

"Where are you going Lynn ?! You're shift's not up for another two hours!"

"Lunch break!" She yelled back to her supervisor.

"Again," The man yelled. "That's your third break in the past two hours."

She had done this more times then she could count at this point. She was placed as the cashier at the front of the station. The kitchen was right behind her. Which was convenient, because it made for quick get in and out dashes. Once she was in the kitchen it was simply matter of making it down the hallway and taking a left to the bathroom.

The difficulty would often vary on the time. If it was early in the morning, she didn't have much trouble. Regardless of how much the country had let itself go. People weren't so far gone, that they piled up at a fast food joint before noon. But if they ever showed up anytime past one in the afternoon. She had to duck, dodge, swerve, and tumble like no bodies business.

Once she got to the end of the hallway, she found the restroom, opened the door and slammed it shut. She didn't bother locking it, as she placed her full weight against the door. Her head slammed against the weak wooden frame and she tightly closed her eyes to drown out all the noise. This was the first time today. And if she was lucky, maybe it would be the only time for today.

They used to come in much bigger numbers. When she got this job, one person spotted her out. And then the rest of them came in a matter of hours. They would line up for days on end just to get a look at Adrena Lynn. The washed out has-been of showtime TV. The girl who had it all and lost it in the blink of an eye. Thanks to Middleton's own ever so special teen hero, Kim Possible. The little brat outed Lynn on one of her high building jumps. And she's been paying for it ever since.

When Lynn was cancelled she was desperate to get back on the air. She had been in show biz her entire life.

She was a tree in some school play when she was six for goodness sake. She was born to be in the spotlight!

But she took that away from her. The little spoiled brat stole her life. And after that, Lynn couldn't find work anywhere. No one wanted to hire her! She was a fraud as far as everyone was concerned. Because actors in Hollywood are so genuine with their charities and adoptions. Events that are never even seen on the news, until one of their movies just conveniently happens to be coming out a few weeks later.

She wanted to scream, this was not how her life was suppose to turn out. She was suppose to become a big reality star. And then star in movies with big name actors. Become a real phenomenon with an amazing story to write. She just wanted to get there a little faster was all. So she cut a few corners. People take the easy way out all the time, why did she have to pay so much for it, just because of some stupid little girl!?

"Lynn," A three pattern knock was made on the bathroom door. "Come on Lynn open up. I know you're in there."

She contemplated hiding but she knew it was no use. This dude, knew her way too well. With a heavy sigh she opened the door, and before her stood Jason. Probably her only real friend in this ridiculous joint. Wearing the same stupid outfit of blue, yellow, and white. But for some reason she didn't mind it so much when it was on him.

Lynn wasn't sure just what it was about him, but he had this natural air to him. That just kind of commanded authority. That mixed in with his red hair and piercing green eyes. The guy just knew how to look in charge. Even when he was dressed like an idiot.

"Is there some rule against me wanting to be alone?" Lynn asked.

"No," Jason responded. "Just against you not working when you're on the payroll. Now you got the boss man sending me in after you. You' know how much I hate to do that."

Lynn sighed. "I know I know," She said. "Sorry dude, I just...I don't know. I've been doing that since I got here, so now it feels like muscle memory. You know ?"

Jason gave a slight smirk. "I do," He said. "But you probably won't have to do it for much longer. She's the only person to show up today. And yesterday barely anyone spotted you. I think its safe to say, you're heading down the path to low-key and mediocrity."

Lynn's heart skipped a beat. And she didn't know why. Something felt off...

"Come on," Jason said. Throwing his hand towards the exit door. "You look like you could use a break."

"What," Lynn asked. "What about getting back to work?"

"It's a fast food job Lynn," Jason said. "I'm sure there's someone else here who can figure out how to use a cash register."

She didn't need anymore convincing then that. She bolted for that door.

"Problem with most jobs ? Not nearly enough time for breaks."

"Right?! It's like people want us to give them all of our time. And when we get home, we don't want to do anything else. How are we suppose to be able to follow our dreams? How are we even suppose to try to learn something new, when all we're thinking about is getting enough rest so we can go back to work tomorrow ?!"

"Question for the philosophers." Jason reached into his pickers and pulled out a pack of Camel roll-ups. He took one and handed it to her, in which merely shook her head in response.

"No thanks," She said. "On top of everything wrong with my life, I don't need to add something like that to the list down the road."

Jason scuffed. "Yeah you're right. It's too nice outside anyway. No point in ruining it with a bad habit."

"The weather is nice," Lynn said. "It'd be better if I didn't have to stand so close to this stupid place. The smell is still here, and it practically ruins the concept of taking a break, when that smell is there to remind to that you have to go back to work in just a few minutes."

"Then why not go home," Jason asked. "You can always tell you boss that your sick."

Lynn scoffed, "He doesn't like me as it is. The last thing I need to do is give him an excuse to fire me."

"Would that be bad," Jason asked. "It's pretty clear that you don't like this job. It's obvious you don't want to be here. So why not leave?"

"Because I need to eat," Lynn said. "It doesn't matter how much the job sucks, I need food and a roof over my head. And if work wasn't suppose to suck is wouldn't be called work."

_Not like I got a choice anyway. Not like I got a world of other options.  
><em>

"Flirting with disaster again huh?"

Lynn rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure why Jason was so obsessed with that stupid country song.

"Out of money, out of hope, looks like self destruction." He said in a sing song tone. "If the normal life is so lame, why not go back to what you were doing before?"

"You don't think I've been trying," Lynn snapped. "I've sending applications everywhere. No one in the showbiz wants to hire me. I've been stuck in this stupid job for a little over two years now! No one wants me !"

Jason's eyes widened in realization at her words. "Whoa," He said. "I had no idea."

"Yeah," Lynn grumbled. "It's been really tough –

"It's really been two years since Kim Possible stumped you out on live television in front of over a million people. Oh man, that must suck."

Lynn gave him a mean glare. To no avail, her temper did very little to impede Jason. This was a man who lived life with little to no genuine concerns. Lynn wasn't sure how he swung that. She wished she did. It would make her life a lot easier.

"I gotta ask," Jason said. "Is this the same month it happened? When she totally stumped you out and humiliated you I mean ?"

Lynn gave another defeated sigh. "No," She averted her gaze from his. She didn't want him to see any signs of defeat on her face. "It happened in November, not June."

"Oh yeah," Jason said in wonder. "I should remember that. I recorded it, I think I still have it on tape somewhere in my apartment."

_Thanks Jason..._

**Did** Lynn mention she hated everything today? Because she did...she **really** did.

" And then a few weeks after that happened there was that thing where her clothes became super popular. Everyone was wearing them, so it was like Kim Possible was all over the place. That must have made things even worse for you." Jason's thoughts seemed to have gotten the better of him as his rant continued.

"Geez, I mean first she dethrones you from show biz, then she's the next big thing in fashion. That's like stealing someone's car, crashing it, lighting it on fire, stomping on it, though I'm not to sure what that would actually do at that point, And then buying the **exact** same car and driving it around the same street they live on. Just to say, 'I didn't even **need** this car. I'm doing it just because!'"

Lynn could feel her teeth beginning to grind together. "Thanks Jason," She hissed. "That makes me feel so much better."

Jason raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry," He said in a joking manner. "Sometimes my mind gets the better of me."

"Whatever," Lynn said. She turned her back to him and made her way back towards the restaurant. "I should get back to work anyway."

"Whoa Lynn," Jason quickly caught up with her. "You should never go to work mad you know."

"Yeah well, too late for that."

"Yeah that might probably be my bad. But what if I told you I had something that could fix up all of that."

Lynn rolled her eyes. "Yeah right," She said. " I doubt there's anything in the world that could make me feel any less terrible then I probably look."

Jason raised his eyes in interest to her words."Oh yeah," He said intrigued. "Care to make a wager on that?"

Lynn didn't have time for this. She needed to get back to work. "Whatever," She said.

"I'll take that as a yes," Jason held out his hand towards her. "Lets shake on it then. Say three days of covering my shift if I win?"

Lynn gave another heavy sigh. She quickly grabbed his hand and gave a firm motion in agreement. She didn't really care to be honest, she didn't know what he had, but she doubted it was anything that impressive.

Let alone something that could lift her mood.

Once she released his hand, Grimm immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He began to quickly tap buttons in what seemed like him searching for something. Once he seemed to have found it he handed his phone over to Lynn.

"Read it and weep." Jason said, and without another word he turned his back and headed back towards the restaurant.

Lynn was somewhat confused about what could make the red headed man so confident.

That is...she **was** confused.

Until she began to read what he had handed her. It didn't take long before certain words began hopping out to her.

_Kim Possible...accident...hospitalization...arrest warrant...scandal cover up...protesting...Kim Possible failed...KIM POSSIBLE FAILED!_

Those words resonated in her head. She had never read something so magnificent. She didn't know what to say. She barely knew what to think. All she knew, was that this was unbelievable. But before she got a chance to say anything, she heard Jason give one last reply.

"And just in case you were wondering," He said. "I like to have my Fridays free!"

* * *

><p><em>Area: Craig Hospital, Englewood <em>

_Date: July 21, 2006_

_Time: 4:30 p.m._

This hospital was getting a lot of attention lately. Seriously a lot of attention. And this was a hospital. By rule of thumb, that usually wasn't a good thing.

People were constantly showing up.

And disappearing as soon as they showed up.

He wasn't too sure what to make of it really.

People in suites would come into his room. Ask him a couple of questions. Then they would just leave. It's been going on for a good two days now. Not that he mind. He kinda liked the attention.

_I don't recall ever being in a hospital before, but I had no idea they were so accommodating. I'm gonna have to write a nice review for this place when I get out._

Talking to people was nice. Talking was a good distraction from the obvious problems. And he wasn't in any hurry to start addressing any of those things. For now he was happy just relaxing in his comfortable little hospital bed.

It was strange though, Ron couldn't help but notice something odd about his room. Unlike the other ones, his was bigger. His bed was really comfortable, and even the food they brought him was strange. It was simple food, fruit, juice, pudding, nothing that required a lot of effort to chew.

But the taste, it was almost too good to believe it was hospital food. It's like they had a chief or something making it special for him.

And then there was the floor he was on. There was barely anyone around him for a good five rooms. It's like there was a shortage of people to treat or something. It was really weird, that the next five hospital rooms right next to his were completely empty. The only time he ever saw anyone in there was when nurses and doctors and maids would show up to inspect the areas.

Which was pretty weird in it of itself. They would show up, look around the corners of the rooms, check behind the windows and doors, then leave. They'd check Ron's room to make sure if there was anything he needed. Ask him if there was anything out of the ordinary, and then just disappear. And to make it even stranger was how frequent they showed up.

But wasn't just the fact that they kept showing up. It was how they did it. Ron couldn't help but notice a pattern with their constant check ups.

First the maid would show up. Then almost two hours later a nurse would show up. Then three hours later a doctor would show up. And it was a different person each time!

The only face he remembered was someone called Richard. He spoke to Ron when he first woke up. He was in the room for a total of a few minutes. And that was it. Ron never saw him again.

_Weird..._

He wasn't stupid, Ron could tell something strange was going on.

When that Richard guy vanished Ron had half a mind to start complaining. Maybe even demand they tell him what was going on.

But in his condition, no memories, no contacts, physically weak, not to mention no real idea of where he even was, He figured it probably wasn't a good idea to rock the boat so soon.

He'd figure a way out of this mess soon...right ?

" **WRONG !** "

Four thirty right on the dot. That girl knew how to keep a schedule.

"Tia you can't keep coming up here," A nurse was accompanying the young girl. Not that Tia really needed one. "You're going to get me in trouble with my boss."

"Like I care," The girl yelled. "This is a hospital not a prison. I'll go wherever I want to go."

"Tia the patient needs his rest."

"**WRONG ! **" The girl exclaimed. "He needs to stop being lazy. Lying around in bed all day is bad for you anyway. And he's been resting for days already. What he needs is friends."

_Hey..._

"I almost thought you come to see me today Tia." He said, a forced smile on his face.

Behind the door stepped the young girl. No older then ten, a no taller then four feet. Long straight dark brown hair to reached her waist. And very large and curious white eyes.

"Of course I'd make it," The young girl said. "Since all of my friends are gone now, you're gonna have to take their place."

"I heard about that. Sorry by the way," Ron said. "I know how much you liked hanging out with them."

Tia shrugged. "It's no big deal," she said. "It's a hospital, we all know what can happen. We've all seen the TV shows."

Ron frowned slightly at her words. Tia was the first, and so far only person to visit him since he woke up. Though he wasn't too sure if counted since she was a patient in the hospital as well.

_Whatever..._

The point is, she was the only person who came around to keep him company. And sometimes he was happy about that.

"For today I've decided that we are going to watch a full marathon of My Pretty Pegasus."

And then there were moments like this...

"Um Tia," Ron said. "Maybe I could pick what we decide to watch today."

"Nope," Tia said. "You aren't well enough to make such a decision."

"What do you mean?" The blonde asked.

"You're still not well. Your brain hasn't recovered yet. So you don't know what good TV is. That's why I'm here to pick it for you."

The blonde groaned. She always did this. He spent a good four to five hours a day watching this girls choice in shows. Some of them were decent, but most of them were just...just nauseating.

"Don't worry," Tia said. "You'll thank me one day. It's good for you brain."

"So you keep saying, " Ron muttered. "But I really don't want to watch any more of that today."

"Well how lucky for you. Today you just might not have to."

How could he forget. His last visit was over an hour ago.

In the door, stood a woman of medium height and white skin. Shoulder length red hair, and very pretty green eyes.

"Hey," Ron said. "Um...you...person..."

The woman smiled. "Marla," She said. "You can call me Marla. And don't feel bad about not knowing who I am. You probably see more then your fair share of faces around here."

Ron gave a sheepish laugh. "Thanks," He said. "So What's this you said about me not having to watch terrible today."

Tia shot him a furious look. Ron merely grinned at her and shrugged in indifference.

Marla laughed at the two's interaction.

"I'd hate to interrupt such a nice display," The nurse said. "But it seems that our special patient has a guest today."

Both Ron's and Tia's eyes shot towards the nurse in surprise.

"Guest," Ron said. "I have a guest? Are you sure? I was starting to think no one was ever going to visit me. "

"Yeah," Tia interjected. "He's been here almost a week now. And only one person came to see him."

Marla's eyes narrowed in Tia's direction. However, Ron didn't notice. He was still thinking about the fact that he had an **actual** guest from **outside** the hospital.

"After all that time had passed, no one else ever came. I was beginning to think he was just some looser. "

Ron glared furiously at Tia, in which she only responded with a grin and an indifferent shrug.

"Well you are." The young girl said. That's why I hang out with you so much. Because I feel bad for how sad your life is.

There were at least a hundred different comebacks Ron could say to that.

But over fifty of them were way too mean.

So he just kept quiet.

"You know what, I don't even care" Ron said dismissing Tia with a wave of his hand." I've got a guest to entertain. So tell me Marla who is she."

"A resident from Middleton High," Marla spoke, as she started to walk out of the room. "She said you were one of her first friends when she came to Colorado."

"Was I really?" Ron asked, his eyes wide open.

"That's what she said." Marla replied. "Either way she seems excited to see you. If I recall correctly, I think her name was Monique."

* * *

><p><em>Area: Unknown<em>

_Date: Unknown  
><em>

_Time: Unknown_

Silence was often the worst part.

The mind was simply not meant to handle such a prolonged amount of inactivity.

It came with its own level of tension.

People would often sit and wonder about what the other was thinking.

But it mattered little in this circumstance.

Because Will already knew what she was thinking.

"So let me get this straight." She said. "You made contact with two girls from Middleton ? "

"Yes."

"A Miss Tara Pride and a Miss Bonnie Rockwaller?"

"Affirmative."

"You gave them your full agent name ?"

"I did yes."

"You then proceeded to antagonize and insult them?"

"Of course."

"With which you then made a promise to keep in touch with them. And then you had a package sent to Miss Pride's home ?"

"Actually I sent the package before hand. If I had done it afterward, it would not have shown up on time. In situations such as this, timing is crucial."

The Director's eyebrow twitched slightly. That was rarely a good sign.

Will was about to go into a more through explanation about how he had reached his conclusion of proper timing.

But considering the Director's current mood. He decided against it.

Timing is crucial, but learning to read the situation was also very important.

The Director rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I know I'm going to regret it," She groaned. "But I need to know why you thought this was an appropriate form of action."

"We were compromised," Will said matter of factually. "Approximately three days ago if I remember correctly."

"Compliments of Marla."

"Indeed," Will said. "Someone walked right into our hospital. By passed our security and was within the subjects room while he was still comatose."

"You mean sleeping?"

"Comatose," Will interjected. "She walked right into the room. She had to have been within his presence for well over ten minutes. And then when she was done, she simply left. No trace, no evidence of her presence, no prints, nothing. As if she were a ninja from some secret village."

The Director shrugged. "I've seen stranger."

"As have I. However, Stoppable is under our protection, or at least he was. " Will leaned forward in his chair.

"Someone being able to walk right into our hospital while well over fifty agents were on duty is nothing short of a red flag. Global Justice is many things, but incompetent is not one of them."

"The Director sighed. "Thank you for telling me about** my** organization agent Du. However, that doesn't answer my...Hey...wait a minute...What do you mean he **was** under our protection?"

_Here it comes..._

For a brief second Will had trouble meeting his superior's eyes...um, eye.

He knew she would not take the news well. But putting it off wasn't doing him any favors.

"Rearrangements have been made to Stoppable's living conditions," He said. "In approximately two hours, he will be released from the our Hospital."

The Director shot up from her seat. "What," She bellowed. "I didn't approve that!"

_Timing is everything. Sometimes it's better to be quick when it came to bad news._

"No," Will said. His fingers beginning to fidget slightly. "That's because Stoppable's release was green light under my direct authority.

And there it was.

An agent could hear a pen drop from down the hall.

Right up until the moment where the Doctor Director glowered at Will and slammed her fist very hard onto her desk.

" **WIIILLLL!** "

The agent almost jumped from his seat. He knew she wouldn't be happy about this new development. But no amount of mental preparation could every prepare him for seeing this woman angry.

"How dare you," She seethed. "How, **dare** you!?"

"Doctor Director please—

"Do you have any idea what you've just done ?! You deliberately disobeyed me! And for what?!"

"The patient—

"Just woke up after being asleep for over **three** days! He was **comatose **! How could you do something so reckless ?! "

"His safety—

"Will be even worse out there then it was in our hospital!"

"We were compromised —

"Once Will. Just once, we could have fixed it. We could have figured something out. If you had just given us some time to look into it. Instead of taking matters into your own hands. Do you even know just how much trouble he could run into out there. What if any news reporters get their hands on him? How do you think they're going to react when they find out he has amnesia ?!"

Will could feel the temperature in the back of his neck increase slightly by six degrees. Also, the amount of activity in his fingers and toes had increased well over twenty percent since the Doctor Directer began to yell at him.

What was this feeling ?

_Apprehensiveness perhaps _

Either way it didn't matter. Soon the Director fell back into her chair. The weight of her head fell forward into her hands, as her hair began to fall forward in front of her head.

"Honestly," She said. "I can't believe you did this. I never had you pegged for the type to over react. You've always been a perfectionist but this is just too much."

"You're assumptions of my text-book nature are spot on," Will said. "However, I am inclined to disagree with you about the necessity of my actions."

"Oh really," The Director said. Her had still buried in her hands. You send home a patient with amnesia because of **one** —

"**Two**," Will said. "Because of two Doctor Director."

Her head shot up to get a clear look at Will. The evident look of surprise on her face made it clear that she wasn't aware of what he was talking about.

_As I figured..._

Will reached down to the foot of his chair and pulled up a document he had been saving for this very moment. A folder with a compilation of printed articles and pictures all thrown together. It was messy, but he didn't have a world of time to get it made smoothly. He threw it toward the Director and allowed it to slide across her table until it was within arms reach.

She was never one to stand around on ceremony. She immediately opened the file and began observing the pictures Will had brought to her.

She was dead silent for what felt a solid one minute and thirty seven seconds.

Will counted, timing is everything. Even if it isn't his to make.

In silence she closed the file and placed it slowly on her desk. She then locked eyes with the young agent.

Well... eye...

_Close enough..._

"Where did you get this? " She asked in a deadly serious tone.

Will matched her tone and demeanor. Looking her dead in the eye before saying one thing.

"Internet."

The facial expression the Director gave him was incomprehensible. There seemed to be more then emotion present at the time. With a very strong underlying of disbelief.

"Agent Will," She said lowly. "I don't know what game you're playing at. But let me assure you, you're playing with the wrong person."

It seemed his answer was not satisfactory.

_Best to elaborate further then._

"Counting the first intrusion three days ago, there have been an approximation of two incidents where our hospital was compromised. What you hold in your hand is undeniable proof of a second intrusion. " The Director leaned back into her chair.

"Elaborate." She said.

"You've already seen the proof. The file I gave you contains pictures taken from a website that has been posting information nonstop. Pictures centered about Team Possible's humiliating and soul crushing failure. Their absolute and **utter **—

"Enough," The Director said. "Where on Earth is this website even getting these photos ? "

"I don't know," Will responded. "But some of these photos are from the incident of Stoppable's accident. No one should even **have** those."

_No one without government connections at least..._

"Some of the photo's are also of a variety of hospitals. All within the state of Colorado. Many of them centered around the Eastern and Northern regions. But if you look closely you'll notice something very interesting."

"I know," She said. "All the photos are of hospitals in the more remote locations in Colorado. In other words, hospitals that aren't easily accessible to main roads and intersections."

"Hospitals that would require a decent amount of time to reach," Will continued. "Hospitals so remote that most people wouldn't be able to reach them in a hurry. Not without special means of transportation. And if you look closely you will also notice that of all the photos of hospitals present —

"There are almost none within Middleton, Upperton, or Lowerton, I noticed." The Director said. She leaned back in her chair, and began tapping her index finger on her desk.

"In other words, someone suspected that Stoppable was placed in a hospital that wouldn't have been easy to reach. However, he or she wasn't sure which one. So they've been gathering photo's of all hospitals that are within remote locations of the state. Because remote makes it hard to reach, hard to reach means less people. Less people means less gossip. Less gossip means less annoyances. Annoyances that would come in the shape of cameras and microphones demanding answers."

Will couldn't help but smile. It was moments like this, where he received reminders of why she was in charge.

"When it was proposed that Stoppable be moved to Englewood, I confess it took me a while to see the efficiency of the plan. News reporters can't crowd around the hospital if they're scratching their heads about it's very location. Their search buys you time. And when it was revealed that his condition would render him unconscious for an unpredicted amount of time I questioned the logic of placing him in a hospital that actually had no trauma center established."

"Sometimes its best to do the unexpected." The Director said.

"Indeed," Will continued. "But now we have a problem on our hands. Someone's starting to figure out your tactics. And now they are establishing eyes all around the state of Colorado. And to make matters worse, they are now spreading around what they know. People like this could become a problem if we aren't careful. Wouldn't you agree ?"

The Doctor Director stared at the file on her desk. From what Will could gather, she was accessing everything he had just told her. She wouldn't need long, she never did. She was that good.

"From this point onward I will personally manage Stoppable's rehabilitation." Will said. "I figure that will be for the best."

The Director's attention drew back toward Will. "Is that right," She said. "And why is that might I ask?"

"Because I have the oddest feeling you will be too preoccupied with his even less impressive counterpart."

This surprised her. "Kim," She asked. "Why would I need to keep tabs on her."

"Because as we speak, she is about to board a plane that will take her deep in the western fields of Europe."

The Director's eye shot wide open. And soon lowered, as she gave Will yet another vicious glare. However, the Agent remained indifferent to her aggression. Nothing was happening today that he hadn't foreseen.

The Doctor Director said nothing else to him. She merely stood up and and began walking towards the exit of the room.

But not before stopping to get one last word in.

"You will report back to me," She said. "Everything that happens, and I do mean **everything**."

"Affirmative." Was all the agent said.

Before long, he could hear the doors open and the footsteps of his superior as she made her way out of the room.

Leaving Will to himself in a large and almost empty room.

_That went better then expected  
><em>

A smirk formed on his lips, as he stared across the table at the empty seat where the Director sat. The structure, the design, the sheer elegance of it. Even when vacant it commanded authority. Will always liked that chair. In fact he always admired many things the Doctor Director owned. It was all so extravagant. The perks of being the top man in charge. And he couldn't wait until the time, came for it all to become his.

* * *

><p><em>'Welcome, we've been expecting you for some time.'<br>_

_'Where am I ? ' _

_'Someplace safe, worry not my friend. _

_Oh, um..._

_Not what you were expecting eh? _

_Ha, something like that._

_Well, it's always good to keep a few surprises tucked away. _


	7. Chapter VII

_"Very well agent Marla," The director said, with a slight tone of appreciation. "Will and I are going to tend to the paperwork. You bring our heroes back safely." Without another word, she and Will walked towards the same corner to their left, and kept walking until they disappeared completely._

_Was that even the same corner she came out of? _

_Ugh… this is making my head hurt _

_"Hey kid," Marla said, point her finger directly behind her. "There are some snacks and treats in that room right behind if you want."_

_"BOOYAH!" Ron exclaimed, running straight forward in the direction Marla pointed without any hesitation._

_"Ron!" Kim called out._

_"Be back in five KP!" He called back. In a few minutes he disappeared as well, leaving only Kim and Marla in the room together. _

_She tried not to seem uncomfortable, but it was hard with the way Marla was smiling so intently at her._

_"Um…," She said hesitantly, rubbing her arm in sheer awkwardness. "So your name's Marla?"_

_"It is." Was all she said.  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>~~Section VII~~<em>

As the World Goes Around

* * *

><p><em>Area: Haye's Residence<em>

_Date: July 21, 2006_

_Time: 1:35 p.m._

These past few days have been lousy. Lets be honest, they have been really lousy. This summer, what was left of it anyway, was really starting to blow. A week ago she and Kim were planning on going to a movie together. But now that was gone.

Everything sucked right now. And Monique was hoping she could forget about everything last night. Just for a little bit. But unfortunately that didn't work out the way she wanted it to. Seriously, how did people find these things fun?

She should have known better then to believe what she saw on movies and television. But man, she honestly didn't think the real thing would be that much of a disappointment.

Where she expected new wave music, all she heard was over the top ear splitting bass. Where she sought new generation individuals, all she found were a bunch of dead beats huddled around a couch. And instead of dancing, all she had to work with were a bunch of frustrated college boys gyrating angrily and off beat.

If there was someone to sue, she would have done it by now. Cause she had been mislead. College parties in real life were nothing like how the big screen made them look. Smoke covered the air, the guys smelt awful, like they didn't even shower before they showed up. And the girls dressed like they all shopped from the same store, with identical personalities purchased on a bargain sale.

After a few hours, the raven haired girl ran for the hills. Or at least she tried. Not only were the boys were a real disappointment, they were unbelievably clingy. She once thought high school boys were the worst. Words could not describe how crushed she was to see they could actually get worse. It's almost as if they got more immature the older they got. So many of them acted like they had something to prove. And if she so much as complimented one of them, they wouldn't leave her alone for the entire party. She once tried to get rid of one boy by telling him that she had to go the the restroom. As soon as she got out, she saw him at the end of the doorway staring right at her. He was actually waiting for her to get done.

That was just a new level of disturbing.

Why was it that she always managed to attract complete losers?

Why couldn't she ever get run into a nice, cute, intelligent man? Someone normal? Someone fun? Someone who **didn't** wait for her outside of the bathroom ?

Was there something wrong with her?

_Na…that can't be it…_

Whatever the case, the party was a big flop. And frankly she needed a nice long hot shower to wash out the stain of failure from her body.

But mid stride to the tub her phone began to ring.

"Man I'm on a roll today. "she groaned. "Can't wait to see what else decides to annoy me." She reached for her flip phone, and activated it.

"Hey," she said annoyed. "Who's this ? "

"_I'm assuming this is Monique correct?_"

_He didn't know it was me? _

"Yeah," She said in hesitation. "This is Monique, what's up?"

"_A lot is up apparently. And I'm going to need some help with that. Hence this phone call._"

"What—"

"_Your time is very limited Miss Hayes,_" the speaker intercepted. "_You need to move quickly._"

This wasn't making any sense. And for some reason, Monique was just counting the seconds until it was polite to hang up.

"How is my time limited?" She wasn't genuinely interested. She just wanted to go take a shower.

"_Because you need to be somewhere. And you need to be there fast._"

"Be somewhere," She questioned. "And just how far is this 'somewhere' ?"

"_Very far._"

"I see," She said. "And how fast do I need to get there?"

"_Impossibly fast._"

_Okay this is just getting stupid..._

"Oh huh," She said in monotone manner. "Right, I'll get right on that buddy." Without another word she immediately closed her phone, disengaging from the call.

She didn't know who that guy was. But she was more or less done with boys for the time being. All she was concerned about was getting in that bathtub and washing away anything last night related.

However she didn't make it far. The minute she placed her phone on the table, it began to ring again.

She gave it a quick glance, but decided to pay in no mind. She already knew who it was. Most prank callers had this weird habit of wanting to be taken seriously. So it didn't spoil their fun. Unfortunate for him, Monique had no intention of playing his game. After a minute of ringing the call finally stopped. She hoped he had left her a voice mail. That would be really entertaining to listen to. But then something strange started to happen.

Her house phone began to ring.

This took Monique by surprise. It was one thing to have her cellphone number. But her house phone to ? That was a little weird. Granted anyone with a phone book could have found her number. And considering what happened to Kim and Ron, it wasn't too unusual for her to get a little bit of side attention from all of it. Still, to go through all this trouble. The guy had hear, Monique had to give him that. Hopefully if she just ignored him, then he'd get bored and go away.

_Sorry buddy, just not in the mood for this right now. _

She made her way to the bathroom for that long and beautiful shower she was imagining. And then things got even weirder. As she made her way through the hallway, she heard a large noise in her living room. It sounded like a loud bang, and what followed was a variety of strange noises. From what she could gather, her television had just turned on. Which was odd, because both of her parents were at work. She knew they were. She didn't have any siblings and she definitely didn't invite any guests over and she didn't have any pets.

So how could the television be on right now ?

She quickly spun around and made her way to the living room. And just as she predicted the television was on. She searched around the room and didn't see a single soul. The remote was siting on a nearby table. No signs of anyone tampering with it. She looked towards the screen and noticed what looked like some old western playing. And then things began to get weird again. The image on the television began to fade. It's image beginning to distort. Static appearing on it, with the colors and images fusing amongst each other. Picture frames smashing together and tearing apart until nothing distinguishable was apparent. And then, it faded to black, then grey, then red, then blue, and then white. With a low toning sound being the only thing that could be heard.

Monique stared in shock and horror at what she was seeing. She wasn't sure what was going on right now. And then that's when she saw it. Letters began to appear in her television. Almost as if someone was typing and she was seeing the result. It wasn't much, in fact it was on just **one** sentence. But it had everything she needed to see. Just enough to make her realize that this wasn't a game. Five words...

_Ron Stoppable is now awake._

And just like that her phone began to ring again. But this time, she was finally interested in what the man had to say. Without a moment's hesitation, she flipped open her phone. "Who are you ?" She demanded.

"_That's classified._"

"How do you know about me ?"

"_That's classified._"

"How did you find out about Ron?"

"_That's -_

"Are you joking," She yelled. This was getting her nowhere. "You called me to tell me that you can't tell me anything ?!"

"_Not exactly._"

"Okay then," She said impatiently. "What can you tell me?"

There was a brief moment of silence before he spoke. "_I want to help._" He said. "_Trust me on that much._"

She couldn't tell if he was completely sincere. But she didn't want to just ignore him. Not now anyway. One thing was for sure, if this was a prank it was a damn good one.

Whoever this guy was, he seemed to truly want to get this message delivered to her. That much was apparent.

So she needed to see just what she could get out of him.

"Okay, lets take this from the beginning then."She said. "You said you needed me to be somewhere really far."

"_Affirmative._"

"And that I needed to get there fast."

"_Impossibly fast, yes._"

"How," She questioned. " How on Earth am I supposed to do that? I don't own a car."

_I don't have a license either…._

"_Look outside your window, in front of your house._"

"What…"

"Look outside-"

"I heard you the first time boy," Monique shouted. "I'm not stupid."

"_Then why did you-_"

"Shut up."

She walked over toward her front door and peeked through her mirror. And what greeted her was the site of very tall man in a dark suit. His hair perfectly combed back, with small black gloves on both of his hands. Probably so he would leave no fingerprints. His suite was jet black as he wore perfectly shined brown dress shoes. He even had glasses on to conceal most of his face, as he stood next to a mid height midnight blue colored vehicle. He looked like he had just walked right out of a super secret spy movie.

Monique wasn't sure what all was going on here, but this had officially stopped being funny.

"This is a prank isn't it?" she said into her phone. "You're just some dumb middle scholar kid who wanted to get a kick out of messing with me right?"

"_I'm afraid not._" The voice spoke. "_I know I'm putting you in an awkward position right now. But you were the only person I could think to contact._"

"Why me," She said. "Why didn't you contact Kim? Or Ron's parents? Or Kim's parents? Or even Rufus? Why **me **?**"**

_"Because you're the one person **nobody** would've expected._"

The raven haired girl clamped her lips shut. She had no response for that.

"_You're running out of time Miss Hayes. I'd recommend getting dressed before your departure. And please do take a shower, I can smell you from here_."

"But you're on the phone."

"_I know..._"

* * *

><p><em>Area: Possible Residence<em>

_Date: July 21, 2006_

_Time: 3:00 p.m._

It felt odd.

Not the soundings but the way she felt. Kim was so used to wearing her black cargo pants with her matching was her trademark look. She had been wearing the outfit for so long now it almost felt required. As she stood and observed herself in the mirror, she couldn't help feeling a little underdressed. She still had comfortable clothing for combat. But at the end of the day, dark jeans and a brown holster top simply didn't work. She had been trying for the better part of an hour to find a subtitle substation. But it wasn't working. Nothing was working. And damn it, she was getting tired of trying.

_You've emptied out your entire __closet. Now what? _

Now what indeed. She was never good at things like this, thats' why she settled on her original look. At the end of the day black clothing could work with just about anything. Even black clothing. It was simple, functional, and logical all in one. But now, she couldn't wear that outfit.

She could barely even bring herself to look at it. The minute she got home, she tore them off. Threw them in a bag, stuffed them under her bed and never bothered looking at them since. Her mom requested washing them a few times but Kim didn't want them. She didn't want her mother to see those clothes. She didn't want anyone seeing those clothes.

Not her mother, not her father, not her little brothers, no one...

The redhead decided to sit in her chair. She had been in her bed way too long, and it was starting to really hurt her back. There wasn't a world of options she had though. In her room it was usually a choice between her bed or her chair. Sometimes she chose to stand, but it rarely mattered. The room was still as lonely as it had ever been. And she had spent so much time in it, it was almost starting to feel suffocating.

But none of that was doing anything for her current situation. She needed to figure out what she was going to wear, or this entire thing was going to fall apart. She was already suppose to get in touch with Wade sooner. But she had been so preoccupied that she just couldn't find the time...

Okay, that was lie.

She wasn't preoccupied she just didn't want to talk. After Wade gave her the update about Europe, Kim spent a good six hours wondering if this was really what she wanted to do. There were a lot of pros and cons to this, more cons then pros truth be told, but frankly the cons were pretty big. If this went south and she got caught, it would **literally** look like she was fleeing the county.

And there was no way that would look good.

It was lonely with all the time she spent in her room. She still wanted to avoid the outside world, but she was really starting to get lonely. Her family had been amazingly understanding of her isolation. But she didn't want to keep them on hold for too long. She knew they were worried about her. They weren't exactly giving her a hard time. And at the end of the day, they were giving her space. Even the Tweebs weren't bothering her. They had been way may understanding then most families would have been.

They were amazing, they always were. And in times like this she wished she could do a little more to show how much she appreciated them. But in order to do that, she would actually have to face them. And in there lied the pink elephant. She didn't want to face them. Or more so, she couldn't. She honestly had no idea what she would say if she did.

And apparently waiting around in her room wasn't giving her any answers either.

But if she was going to do this. If she was seriously going to do this. Then she couldn't just leave without so saying anything to them. They were her family at the end of the day. And they deserved better than this. She wasn't sure how they would take the news. They probably would scream at her for even considering doing something like this.

But it didn't matter. She needed to see them. At least once. Their were a lot of people she needed to see, a lot of people she would need to speak with, and some she would definitely have to apologize to. She had messed things up royally. And she needed to do something to make it right. Or at least **try** to make it right.

_ Ron…I need to...I would have visited you sooner but I just…_

Oh yeah...a lot of people she would need to apologize to.

She probably wasn't thinking too clearly. But she didn't care, this probably wasn't even the best time to do something like this. But she didn't care, Kim wouldn't accomplish anything by just sitting in her room all day. And it was clear that getting her head in the game for another mission wasn't happening anytime soon. So she would need to try something else.

Something she probably should have tried much sooner to be honest.

"Okay, time to get up." She slowly pushed her weight off of the chair. Once upright she silently stared at her door for several minutes. Her min was slowly beginning to race with thoughts. Part of them encouraging her, the other half...not so much. She slowly began walking towards the door, and once within range Kim placed her hand on the door knob. Finding it surpassingly hard to form a solid grip around the object.

Either her body had been getting weaker over the past few days, or there was a part of her that really didn't want to do this.

But it didn't matter. She had to do this. No, she didn't have to. She wanted to. Somewhat...it was still a little up in the she still wanted to face her family. That much she was almost fifty percent certain of.

She couldn't keep hiding in her room. That much was certain. At some point she would have to face up to everything that had happened and everything she had done. So with one deep and very long breathe. She finally began turning the knob to her door. Once she heard the signature clicking noise, she pushed it open and stared down her hallway for the first time in days.

It was a lot greener then she remembered. And there was a faint smell in the air. Like someone had been going around spraying mint flavored freshener in the air.

_Weird I honestly had no idea they made stuff like that..._

Kim stood in the threshold of her bedroom door. Taking several deep breathes to calm her nerves. She wasn't terribly sure what she was doing at this point. But she knew she wanted to do something. So she took one slow step slowly past her bedroom.

And just like that, Kim Possible had finally made it out of her bedroom for the first time in over five days. It wasn't much of a victory all things considered, but for a while she was starting to thing she would actually end up living in that confined space. It probably wouldn't be perfect, but she could probably still pull it off. She could find a way to face her family, her friends, and make an apology for everything that happened.

Hopefully in time they would understand. They loved her, they cared for her, they would understand she was sure of it. Ron would get better, he would also forgive her. She would find someway to sort everything out with the press and the media. And in time things would eventually go back to normal. The thought alone was enough to slowly begin warming her hear.

Unfortunately she would not be able to enjoy it for long. Because as soon as she tried to take her second step, Kim fell over on the floor landing on her knees. Her mind began growing hazy and her balance started to slip.

She wasn't sure what was happening, but it was like she was slowly loosing control of her self. Soon her balance gave way and she fell over on her floor with her head making contact with the ground. Her breathing pattern shortened and became almost nonexistent. Soon enough, her eye lids began growing very heavy. Her body felt as though it was becoming rooted to the ground. And she felt an odd darkness overcome her. She tried to fight it, but something about it was so comforting.

And in the hallway, just a few inches from her room, Kim Possible gave into the sensation that pulled her in. And simply allowed her body to sleep once again, but with no real certainty concerning for how long.

* * *

><p><em>Area: West Palm Beach<em>

_Date: July 21, 2006_

_Time: 8:30 p.m._

"You're late."

"Get off my back."

Jason gave her his customary grin. Lynn couldn't help but notice that he was smiling a lot more then usual. Not that she could blame him. Now was a good time to smile. Even her job didn't suck as much as it usually did. She almost smiled twice during her work hours. Twice! That may not be much to others, but for her that was huge !

And as soon as her shift ended, she actually waved goodbye to her employees. People were a little freaked out by her sudden change in attitude but she couldn't help it. She was just so giddy today. And she owed it all to one person.

_Kimberly Ann Freaking Possible_

She ran straight home as soon as her shift ended. And as soon as she got home, she practically tore off her stupid uniform clothing. Changed into a casual outfit and ran straight over to Jason's place. His door was unlocked when she got there. He knew she would go there. He was waiting in his room with his computer on.

From what she could tell, all the questions she needed answered Jason had already pulled up for her.

"Before we get started," She said. "I wanna make something really clear."

Jason looked at her questioningly. He noticed a little too late. But Lynn raised her hand and slapped him upon his right shoulder. She wasn't sure if it had actually hurt him. But the sheer surprise caused him to jump back in response.

"Hey," He exclaimed. "What was that for?!"

"For holding out on me." Lynn said. "You knew, I'm willing to bet every dollar I've got. Granted they aren't that many dollars, but I'm still willing to bet them. You knew about this, about Little Miss Sunshine and you held out on me."

Jason scoffed at her words. "Maybe I did," He said. "I was waiting for the right moment. Timing is key. If I just up and told you about all this, without making sure it was on the up and up you could have come out more disappointed than anything."

_Not a bad point..._

Lynn wasn't mad at him. Not really, just a little upset. Nothing too serious. Besides he was right. If this had turned out to be some dumb prank then she really would have been annoyed. "It's all true then," She asked. She never got a chance to fully read the article. So she really needed to know. "This isn't a joke?"

"No joke," Jason responded. "This is on the up and up. And the more I look into it, the better it all gets." Jason walked towards his computer. "Come on," He said. "You're gonna want to see this."

Lynn wasted no time. She got as close as she needed to in order to get a good eye view. A variety of pop ups were on his computer. Each one in relation to the same thing. "There's articles popping up all over the place." Jason said. "People are blogging about this like crazy."

"Just blogging," Lynn asked. "No news reports?"

"That's the funny thing, there's almost zero to any actual news activity on this."

"Seriously?"

"No joke, there's like one news reports that happened a few days back. Just **one,** and there hasn't been anything else. Apparently there was another one but it got removed."

"Why?"

"Some chick who was a news reporter actually said something she wasn't supposed to say. And somebody got wind of it. Now all that's left of it is some rumors on the internet. No one even knows the name of the girl who said it."

"They're trying to keep this a secret." Lynn said. "But why? Why are they being so secretive?"

"She's Kim Possible remember? She looks a lot better when she's not the one losing. I mean how many times have you actually heard stories about her losing on a mission. The only reason we even know about this is because of how huge it is. Someone getting hospitalized is a pretty big deal."

Lynn's eyes shot wide open. "Wait someone's in the hospital?" She said. "You never told me that. Who's in the hospital? Is it Kim ?"

"Nope. Its some blonde haired kid. Short and scrawny. Giant ears and lots of freckles. Looked like a real idiot when they showed us a mugshot of him."

_No way...Stoppable ? He's the one who went down?_

"So this kids in the hospital," Lynn said. "Where is he ? And how did he get hurt?"

"Nobody knows."

"What? How ? How is someone sitting in a hospital and no on knows anything. Does anyone even know where he is? Speaking of which how do you even **know** any of this?"

"Relax Lynn," Jason said. "One question at a time. In that order, I don't know. "

Lynn waiting for the rest of his response. But he only stared blankly at her. "Yeah," She asked impatiently. "And?"

"That's it..." He said blankly. Indifferent to the agitation radiating from Lynn's body.

_Jason so help me..._

"It's clear that someone's trying to keep Stoppable's location a secret." He said. "So people are doing everything they can to keep it on the low key."

"Like that reporter woman?" Lynn asked.

"Exactly. No knows why her broadcast got removed so fast. Barely anyone got the chance to actually see it. Anyone who did can't be reach for any comments either."

_Weird..._

"But if I were to make a guess, I'd say she said something that gave away too much information."

"Secret information," Lynn said. "Like the hospital he was in? Or maybe the location or street address?"

"Exactly, see she probably didn't even know that the information was secret. And now she's gotten caught up in all of this stuff. Sad really, she wasn't trying to hurt anybody."

"No," Lynn whispered. "She was just doing what they paid her to do. She was just doing her job."

"Word, and i'm guessing when people came knocking they higher ups pulled the video. Along with that reporter girl's career. Maybe her existence as well. Can't leave lose ends with stuff like this."

She wasn't sure why, but Lynn could have sworn the room grew , Jason remained indifferent to her mood.

"People are looking into it though," He said. " Right now people are trying to figure out who the reporter woman was. Once they do they'll be able to draw the right connections."

"Can anyone do it?"Lynn asked.

"From what I'm seeing no. No one here actually has that kind of power on this site. It'd probably take someone with some kind of secret connections."

_Or super villain connections..._

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain how you know all this."

"I told you already," Jason said. "The internet. It's all on here. Someone made a website where anyone can post stuff anonymously. And people have been posting like crazy."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup, It's not hard to find this site. All you have to do is just look it up." Jason furrowed his eyes. "Most of it's just a bunch of hate comments though. I mean seriously I'm not a fan of the chick, but she has saved the world a few times. You'd think that'd mean something to these people."

"People always look for something to hate," Lynn said. "Doesn't matter what you do. Doesn't matter how hard you try. People are just waiting for you to mess up."

Jason gave her a sideways glance. "So is that...from experience ?"

Lynn made no response. Instead she walked towards Jason. She bent over him slowly and placed her head, wrapping in her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. She could feel his body stiffen. She couldn't blame him. This wasn't usual for them. But for the time being, she didn't care. For the time being, she didn't want to do anything to ruin this moment.

"Thanks Jason," She said. "I won't forget it."

"Forget what?" The boy asked.

"Everything. I'll see you soon."

Lynn released her grip on Jason's neck and walked towards the door. Jason turned towards her direction.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked.

"I have a plane to catch."

For the first time in years, Lynn felt happy to be alive.

* * *

><p><em>You sure took you're sweet time.<em>

_Aye, Sorry Sorry I meant to get this done a lot sooner. _

_Well why didn't you? _

_Well you know, life and all that. _

_hm, well when you're done making excuses we have a guest to entertain. _

_Is that so? You mean he's finally here ?_

_Looks like it. Took him long enough._

_Well some of us are late bloomers, no shame in that. _

_Aye, and the boy is nothing if not late. _

_Matters nothing he's here now._

_Aye, so let's get started then. _


	8. Chapter VIII

_"So, you always make people feel this uncomfortable?" Kim said. _

_The agent had been staring at her for at least two minutes now. _

_"Not always," Marla replied. "Just when I need to make sure I have their absolute attention."_

_"Oh," The red head teen said. "That's interesting. Most would settle for handshakes but whatever works for you." _

_"Works for me," Marla repeated in a monotone voice."Yes, yes I think that sums it up quite nicely." _

_Kim gave her a questioning look. But before she could respond Marla gave a quick follow up._

_"Kimberly Ann Possible," She said sternly. "How would you like a job?" _

* * *

><p><em>~~Section VIII~~<em>

_Linked Horizon_

* * *

><p><em>Area: Possible Residence <em>

_Date: July 21, 2006_

_Time: 5:00 p.m. _

She was out. Floating within pure abyss.

She wasn't sure what she was looking at. Or even if there was something to look at at all. She stared at what seemed like an endless void. Wondering if possibly there was something within it staring right back at her. But then she heard it.

"You over did it. She wasn't suppose to fall succumb to the smoke."

"Sorry sir, it just happened."

Voices, Two distinct voices to be exact. Speaking so loudly it felt as if they were within arms reach of her.

And as far a Kim could tell, they probably were.

She couldn't pinpoint a direction, however it sounded like two people arguing. Or more so someone being chewed out by another.

"Doesn't matter," One of the voices groaned. "We're already here might as well just roll with it. Send her upstate."

Steps moved towards her direction. And then she heard something underneath her mouth. An odd movement that caused the wind to sway. And then something broke, something small, fragile, and odorous.

And just like that, the darkness around her vanished almost as quickly as it had came. Her eyes snapped wide open welcoming a bright flash of light to fill her vision. She awoke with a gilt almost falling out of her chair.

It was at this time Kim realized she was sitting in a chair.

But that wasn't all she observed. For example, she was no longer within her bedroom. She was sitting in the kitchen of her very home.

The next thing the heroine realized was that she was sitting right across the table from the Program Director herself.

The leader and face, incognito of course, of one of the worlds largest government agencies, Global Justice. The look they exchanged was unreadable at first and an odd silence fell between the two heroes. But it did not take long before the the gears started to turn.

"Good to see you again Kim Possible," The Director said. "It's not exactly ideal but I'm happy that we're able to speak again after such a long time.

_I'm really gonna have to find out what her last name is one day. Just saying Betty sounds way too stupid..._

Her mind was already processing everything that had happened. But her reactions were still slow. The Director raised her right hand towards Kim direction. From what the red head could tell, Betty had just singled for one of her men to do something. And sure enough, a cup of water was placed before her. The man who had placed the cup had dark brown short hair that matched his eyes and skin. He gave Kim an apologetic look.

"Here you go," He said. "And uh...sorry about earlier. The stuff wasn't suppose to get you as well."

She wasn't terribly sure what he meant, but Kim merely nodded her head in response. She attempted to open her mouth but her throat felt beyond dry and soar. She reached for the mug in front of her and slowly began to drink from the cup. Not to her surprise, she was also having trouble properly balancing the cup in one hand.

"It messes with you're motor skills," Betty said. She most likely had figured what Kim was thinking. "I apologize again for the mistake. It seems that even we can still make mistakes with all our years."

"It's a new toy from our research department."The Director repositioned herself on her seat. "It's tested safe so you don't need to worry about anything. This error was on us. But to be fair, you kind of forced my hand a little. I wasn't planning on coming here today, until I got wind of your plans to go across the sea."

_What is she...the mission...but how did she know about that?_

Kim took a slight sip from her cup. It looked like water but there was an odd aftertaste of cinnamon. She couldn't completely identify its taste but it was doing wonders for her throat. With the sourness starting to disappear she decided to take a stab at a few words.

"I-I-It's not like I already did it," The first few were a little tougher then she expected. but she bared through it. "It was just something I was considering."

The Director gave her a skeptical look. "You were doing a lot more then mere consideration, judging from your clothes."

_Dang, mission gear _

It was a substitution, but it was still clear with her dark grey jeans and purple shirt that Kim was trying to replicate the look of her old mission gear. She inwardly cursed her situation. It wasn't like that would have been the first thing that came to her mind after being knocked out anyway. "Are you seriously about to give me the third degree after gassing my house?"

Being defensive probably wasn't the best tactic, but Kim wasn't in the mood to defend herself right now. "Again I apologize for the incident prior," She said. "I just needed to speak with you alone. Your parents were in the house as well you see. And I didn't really know of a way to get into the house and up to your room without alerting them."

"Why didn't you just go through the window?" Kim asked.

"It's five o'clock in the evening. It's still summer so the sun won't go down for another two hours. Someone would have seen us."

"But no one saw you bringing gas into our house."

"They saw us, but none were the wiser."

"What do you mean?"

"Funny thing about people. They aren't nearly as smart as they think they are." The Director said with a smile. "" People often believe that they know how to identify what's dangerous and what isn't. When in reality, most of their knowledge is borrowed from other observations. Which wouldn't be a problem if most of said observations were from real life, however most of them are from things they see on television, movies, and internet videos."

"Okay," Kim said slowly. "Not sure where you're going with this, but okay..."

"Think of it as hiding in plain site," The Director said. "People aren't likely to let some random stranger into their house, or a little girl scout selling cookies, certainly not a Jehovah's witness. But get a knock on the door from two people claiming to be electricians doing an annual routine check up, and doors fly right open."

Kim looked onto the Director with surprise. "The everyday men, be it plumbers, taxi drivers, mail men, or even fast food delivery, they're all around us. And we've grown to trust them without so much as asking for any form of identification or valid proof that they really are who they say they are. Quite frankly, it's one of the easiest ways to get into people's houses, or least through the front door. We could hand someone something dangerous and they wouldn't even realize it until they've already brought it into their house and opened it."

Kim wasn't sure what she could say to that. That was a little more uncomfortable information then she was expecting. But it wasn't just the information itself that bothered her. More so Betty's nonchalant attitude with what she had said. She was an agent of a secret organization, Kim was smart enough to realize she knew a thing or two about being covert. But she never stopped to wonder about just how an organization as large as Global Justice even goes about 'protecting' the world by using infiltration and deceitful techniques.

_Probably don't want to get into that right now..._

If Kim knew GJ as well as she thought she did. Then everything with them was operating within a certain time frame. Which meant, the Director was at her house but she couldn't afford to be there for too long. Which meant Kim only had so much time to speak with her, before she would disappear for God know's how long. With everything that was going on, she would need all the friends she could get. So she couldn't afford to waste this opportunity.

"My family," The red head heroine said. "This gas you're talking about. It...It didn't...

This caught the Director's attention.

"Their fine Kim," She said. "The gas was designed to be non lethal and leave no residual damage to the person breathing it in."

_This gas, which meant she had other forms of gas that could be lethal..._

"You knew that I was at least considering going to Europe. Which means you have to know about the mission I got?"

"Of course," The Director replied.

"How did you find out?"

"That's classified."

Kim gave the Director a pointed look. "So Will told you?"

"Yeah Will told me."

The red head rolled her eyes. "Thought so. So you came here to stop me?"

"Yes," She said with no hesitation. "I don't want you doing this."

"Why not?"

"Why not? Because it's a bad move. You're taking a risk on a slim to none chance."

_What does she mean by that?_

"I've looked into the situation there. It's not just a simple good guy vs bad guy thing. It's a political altercation between two established families. Two established wealthy families, very wealthy. You show up there getting involved, and theres no telling what could become of the situation."

Kim fixed the Director with a calm expression. "I know."

This time it was the Director's turn to be surprised.

"From what little Wade told me the mission sounded like it would be really tough. But I don't think I've ever done a mission like this without someone there to back me up." She stared down at her cup of warm water, which she had honestly forgotten she was still holding.

"Then don't go," The Director said. "If you realize how dangerous this is don't do it. There's absolutely no reason for you to take such an insane risk."

At this Kim merely shook her head at the Director's words.

The Director raised her eye at Kim's words. " I know its dangerous," Kim repeated. "But I still...I don't know. I still want to do this."

"Let me guess, because of Shego."

"No," Kim replied. She firmly placed her cup on the table. Meeting the Director's eye. "Because of Ron."

Her face grew tense at the sound of Kim's words. Maybe she was hoping the red headed heroine would have gotten over the incident. But Kim would never forget. She came close to almost losing everything that day.

"Ron's in the hospital because of me."

"Kim," The Director said. "That's not your -

"Yes it is." Her tone didn't suggest any room for argument. But it wouldn't stop Betty from trying.

"No it isn't," She said firmly. "Drakken did that, him and his stupid machines."

"That he made to attack me."

"Precisely, that he made. Him not you."

"And Ron was there to back me up. Me not Drakken."

The Director groaned rubbing the bridge of her nose."Don't do this Kim," She said. "Don't put something like this on your shoulders. Trust me, you don't want it. It'll never go away." Betty placed her cup on the table focusing her attention on Kim. "Trust me on this. You don't want to let something like this stay with you for a long time. Listen the minute I found out about what you were thinking about doing I bolted right over. But to be honest, I didn't really figure out what all I would say to you when I got here."

"That's a plan for success." Kim said. The Director muffled a slight chuckle at her apparent honesty.

"Touche," She said. "To be honest, maybe I should have said something to you sooner. I just didn't know what to say. I wasn't sure what was right to say, or if there was even anything I could say." The Director got up from her seat and walked over towards Kim. "But trust me when I say, you aren't alone in this. Even if it feels like it's just you against the world sometimes."

"Yeah," Kim said. "I know. I just...I just want to do something...anything. I don't know if this is the right decision. It's probably not. If I do this, something tells me I'll be paying for it later. But Ron's in the hospital because of this. And when he wakes up, I want to at least be able to tell him that he didn't go through all this for nothing. I owe him that much."

"This could make things worse," The Director said. "You know that. And Ron wouldn't want you to do anything that would put you in danger."

"I know, but...I still want to do something for him. I...I don't want him to ever have a moment where he questions just how important he is to me. I don't want him to wake up in a hospital bed feeling like I left him hanging. I just...I don't want that to ever happen. Ron was the first friend I ever had when I came to Middleton. He's always been there for me, and now he's hurt because of that."

"Kim -

"I'm sorry," She interjected. "But you can't talk me out of this. I know this probably childish. But I'm still going to do this.

Their eyes locked for a solid minute. Neither said a word to the other. But eventually, the Director gave in.

"I'm starting to wonder if there will **ever** be a time where kids listen to their elders."

* * *

><p><em>Area: Craig Hospital<em>

_Date: July 21, 2006_

_Time: 6:00 p.m. _

There he was. Monique wanted to hug him. Just run right up to him and hug him. Never let him go. That wouldn't be weird. It might be a little weird all things considered. But for the time being she really didn't care. She just wanted to make sure she wasn't dreaming. But it didn't feel like a dream. Not this time. Judging from the look he was giving her.

"Incase you were wondering sweetie, this is the part where you say 'Hi'."

Monique blinked in response to the doctors words. She had almost forgotten she was standing there. "Sorry," The raven haired girl said. "I guess I was just -

"No need to explain yourself Miss Hayes," The doctor said. "I understand perfectly how you're feeling right now. I'll just give you two some alone time. I'll be waiting outside if you need anything from me." The doctor turned and began making her way for the door. But she suddenly stopped as she was about to move through the threshold. "How could I forget," She said, turning her head towards Ron's direction. "I said that I would leave the **two** of them alone for a while. I'd prefer to stay true to my word, Tia."

The young girl made no response to the doctors words. But this did little to impede the adult woman. "Don't be difficult Tia," She said with a slight tone. "They need to be alone for a while."

"Why?" Tia asked.

"Because they're close friends."

"I don't trust her," The young girl responded. "He's been here for over a week now and he's only had one visitor. It wasn't her. So why is she suddenly showing up now?"

The doctor did not respond. Instead she walked back into the room and grabbed Tia by her wrist. "It's time to go," She said sternly. "Right now."

For a moment it seemed Tia was going to protest Marla's insistence. But she locked eyes with the doctor. For a moment, her body went limp under the woman's touch. This time the little girl did not make a fuss. She quietly stood up and followed the red haired woman outside of the door.

"I could have sworn you were a nurse." Monique heard her whisper as they made their way out of the room, leaving the two alone to finally for a moment, neither of the two actually spoke. Monique simply stared blankly at her old friend and vice versa. She wasn't sure what she could say, or even if there was anything she could say to him that wouldn't sound strange. But thankfully it looked like she wouldn't need to. A slight smile spread across the blonde headed boys mouth.

And for the first time in a long time, Monique heard the voice of a good friend.

"So apparently my name is Ron Stoppable. I was hoping you could confirm that. Cause I'm starting to think they're punking me at this hospital."

Monique had no clue if that should have been enough to make their interaction easier.

But after everything that had happened, she'd take what she could get. She walked towards him and sat down beside his bed. His hair was a mess. It ran down over his forehead, almost shrouding his eyes. His soft warm brown eyes. Eyes that still held a semblance of someone she knew. "Its good to see you again man," Monique wrapped her arms around the base of his neck in a warm embrace. "So good."

His reaction was stiff, but only for a second. Before he relaxed under her pressure, returning the warm embrace. "I really hope everyone else who knows me is as nice as you." They stayed interlocked for a while. She didn't want to let him go. Not yet, not so soon. It had been weeks, but the stress and waiting made it feel so much longer then that. And now that she had him, now that she knew he was alright, she just wanted to enjoy the moment. For however long.

_A nice moment _

"Please tell me you came to get me out of here."

_Aaaand its gone_

Monique released her grip around Ron's neck. And gave him a level eyed look. "How have you been," She asked. "Are they taking care of you here?"

The blonde headed boy shrugged. "Nothing too out of the ordinary. I mean I don't have a lot of people coming to see me. So it gets pretty lonely. I mean the only person who comes to visit me is Tia, and all she ever wants to do is make me watch a show about magical horses that talk and friendship all the time. But aside from that it's not bad here. They treat me pretty good here."

_Well_

"If it's not so bad here why do you want to leave ?"

"Because it's a hospital," Ron replied. "I'm not suppose to stay here too long. Isn't that the whole point? If I was lucky I would never have to ever come back. Not to mention I really need to be around familiar things. Otherwise i'm always gonna be stuck like this."

"Stuck like what ?"

Monique could feel her heart begin to race. She didn't want to ask this, but she knew she had to.

"Like this, you know...broken and...incomplete."

_So it's true_

Monique had time to take in the news about Ron's condition on the ride over. When the driver told her that he couldn't remember anything, she could hardly believe him. But she didn't argue. She knew something like that she'd see for herself once she actually got to the hospital. About ten minutes into the ride, she knew that she wasn't being played. The phone call combined with the driver speaking to her in such a matter of fact tone seemed way too thought out to be a prank. And something about it felt way too serious and concerned to be a set up.

She wasn't sure what that driver or the voice on the phone wanted from her. Neither of them spoke of what they needed her to do. It seemed like the only thing they really wanted was to get her to the hospital at all costs. And now that she was here, it felt like they kind of just left her high and dry to figure it all out for herself. But they wouldn't do that. At least she hoped they wouldn't.

"So what's it gonna be? You're gonna help get me out of here right?

"I...I need to get some water."

She moved too quickly to hear Ron even give a response. All she was thinking about at the moment was just leaving. She made it through the door and walked straight down the hallway. She kept moving until she almost ran into a water fountain stationed on one of the white walls. The place was a lot bigger on the inside then it looked on the outside. And if she wasn't walking down a straight hallway she probably would have gotten lost.

_Why am I even hesitating about this? He wants to leave and go home. That shouldn't even be a problem_

But it was a problem. Monique had no idea what was going on here. She hadn't seen Kim in days. She wasn't able to reach Wade at all. It's like the site he managed practically got shut down. And Monique's parents didn't want her going over to either Kim or Ron's house.

Truth be told, when she thought about it, the fact that she got in the car with a total stranger alone was crazy. But now that she was here, and she knew Ron was alright she actually had no idea what to do.

She could take him with her, but for how long? Does she take him back to his parents? There's no telling how his mom would react. There's no telling how Kim's mom would react for that matter. Her best bet was probably taking him to Wade. Seeing if there was anything he could do for him that a bunch of trained doctors couldn't. It sounded dumb, but Wade was a super genius. Who's to say he couldn't do something for Ron?

But one thing was for certain. Monique couldn't leave him here. He was one of her closest friends. If what Ron said was true, then she might be the only person to come see him outside the hospital. None only that, she might have been the only person he's seen that has any relation to his real life. If she left now, there's no telling how he'd take it.

_But what if it's a trap? _

What if this was a trap. What if this whole thing was some kind of super villain set up. And they just wanted to get two people to use against Kim. It's not that far off of an idea to be honest. Here both of them were. They could get them at any minute once they tried to leave the hospital. If they did, there's no telling what would happen. Not that she could tell what would happen the way she was no. She had already gone this far, it would seem bizarre if she just tried to walk out now.

"It's not easy is it? Having to make the tough calls ?"

Behind her stood the average sized red haired doctor. "Oh hey," Monique said slowly. "You...you're that doctor right?"

"I am," The woman responded. "You can call me Marla. And I know this isn't an easy situation for you. But I can tell that Ron is delighted to have you here Miss Hayes."

Monique smiled. "No problem. I'm glad he's okay. I was really worried about him and -

_Wait..._

She wasn't sure how she caught. But something put the pieces together for her in an instant.

Marla gave her a pleasant smile. "Yes Miss Hayes what is it ?"

"Last name."

"What was that dearie ?"

"I...I...I never gave you my last name."

The doctor blinked in realization. "Oh is that so," She said in a vague tone. "Well you see you're name is collected before you can visit a patient. So we keep records."

_Oh I guess...wait..._

"That's not how it works." Monique replied. "Even if that guy got my name, You shouldn't have known it. There's no way you'd just remember me right off the bat like that."

"And why's that?"

"Because you're a doctor." She wasn't sure how to describe it. But it felt as thought she was watching something crumble and break.

"You get patients all the time, and even then most doctors need clipboards or something to remind them of who they're patients are. There's no way you could remember every person just like that." Monique fixed the woman with a diligent gaze. "Not your patients and especially not they're guests."

The smile fell from the woman's face. She seemed to have been in thought, before a slight smirk came across her lips. "Is that right," She scuffed. "How bout that, Will actually sent someone who's a lot smarter then they look."

_Will ?_

_And what did that girl say?_

_Something about her being a nurse ?_

The little's girls words came rushing back to her. The way she protested leaving and how this doctor made her leave. This entire setup from the phone call to the ride here. She wasn't sure what made her do it. It wasn't smart to be honest. She should have just kept quiet and left, none the less. The words had already left her mouth.

"You're not a real doctor... are you?"

Marla's locked eyes with Moniques'.

Her smirk still evident on her face but no genuine emotion to bare.

"Well, depends on who you're asking."

* * *

><p><em>Area: Middleton Mall<em>

_Date: July 23, 2006_

_Time: 7:30 p.m._

"Evil beware, we have Club Banana mini skirts!"

"Nice, do me a favor. Say that with an Australian accent."

"Why?"

"To see if it will finally be able to make me take you more seriously."

Tara frowned at her friends words. She knew when she was being mocked.

"I'll look into it." She said. "For now lets just get back to this."

"Don't worry we're almost done."

_That's what you said two hours ago_

"That's what you said two hours ago."

Bonnie gave her a pointed glare.

_You're not suppose to actually say that out loud _

_Whoops _

"I already told you, we need to get something new."

"I know, I know," Tara replied. "Club Banana's having an end of the summer sale and you wanted in on it."

"Yup."

"But why?"

"Why what," The brunette said in annoyance. "What is it this time."

"Why do you want us to buy new clothes so badly? It's not like we're on a shortage of fashion."

"You don't want Stoppable seeing you in rags do you?"

Tara blinked in response. She wasn't sure what to make of that question. And frankly she wasn't sure if it had any real point to it.

Leave it to Bonnie to come up with things like this. After going off on her rant, she then randomly out of the blue asks if Tara wanted to go shopping. If this kept up, the blonde headed cheerleader would have to seriously consider getting some help for her friend.

"Look, it's not that i'm not having fun. But should we really be doing this now ? Aren't their other things we could do ?"

"Like what," Bonnie asked. "It's not like we can visit Stoppable at the hospital. Kim's nowhere to be seen. And it's not like we can just look up that weirdo who ran into us at the festival."

_Well when you put it like that_

"So what then, in the meantime we're just gonna shop until something weird happens?"

Bonnie simply shrugged. "You had something better to do ?"

Tara huffed in annoyance. "Okay fine then. At least tell me this. What are we gonna do about that box?"

"Trash it."

Tara's eyes widened. "Wait what?"

"No buts Tara."

"But I didn't say -

"You don't want to deal with it. So we won't, thats all there is to it."

Tara looked at Bonnie in disbelief, a few days ago she was hard pressed to open the box.

"Oh," Tara was at a loss for words. She honestly wasn't expecting that. "That's pretty -

"We don't time for this Tara." Bonnie interjected. "With everything going on. We don't have time to think about some little freak who wanted attention."

She couldn't argue Bonnie's point. After she had a moment to calm down it wasn't hard for Tara to figure out how the guy was able to know so much about them. Basic measurement's aren't really that aren't to find after all. Not to mention both Tara and Bonnie were cheerleaders. Any kind of information about birthmarks wouldn't have been too hard to spot for anyone who went to enough of their games or listened to dirty gossip. Gossip also would answer the stuff he must have known about their families as well.

_How he knew about my personal...hobbies is mystery for another day though_

Tara heard a slight noise being made in Bonnie's pocket. She took out her phone and stared blankly at the screen for a solid minute. "Look I need to go take care of something," Bonnie said. "Why don't you meet me in the food court in like an hour?"

Bonnie didn't give Tara much of a say in the matter. As soon as she finished her sentence she left the clothes store without so much as a single glance.

"Oh, alright." Tara wasn't sure why she said that. By the time she spoke the brunette had already left.

And with nothing left to do, she merely decided to wander the the lanes of the Middleton Mall. Even though she had already seen it a million times over, she could not help but take in scenery of the Middleton Mall. It was truly beautiful, and the familiarity was always comforting. She didn't really need any cloths, Bonnie was worse than her mother, she would measure out everything for her and tell her exactly what she looked good in and what she looked hideous wearing. Honestly she never actually had to do anything.

Unfortunately sometimes shopping for new clothes felt like a complete waste of time. Because Bonnie and Tara had such similar body measurements, Bonnie would often end up borrowing Tara's clothes and never returning them. So at the end of the day, the two of them would end up buying new clothes just for Bonnie. And Tara would have the ever so lovely privilege of helping Bonnie carry the clothes home, and keeping the ones Bonnie couldn't store in her closet at her home.

In the midst of her walking she wasn't properly paying attention to where she was going, and she walked head first into a tall, lanky boy wearing a large overcoat with a hood covering most of his face. The collision knocked them both onto the ground bringing a great amount of paint as well as embarrassment.

"Oh my Gosh," She said. "I'm so sorry, I am such a klutz. I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm so sorry! I hope I didn't hurt you."

"It's okay, "The hooded figure responded. "I'm not exactly mister coordinated myself."

_That voice…_

The boy stood up, and slowly removed the hood from his head. His blonde hair fell to his eyes and his brown eyes locked with Tara's. A friendly smile found its way to the boys lips. And in that moment Tara felt her heart stop. She wasn't sure at first. She could hardly believe it. But there was no denying it.

_The hair, his eyes. those unbelievably cute little freckles. _

"It's really you." She whispered.

"All things considered, I'm pretty accident prone. So it could have been a lot worse." He said, offering her a warm hearted smile. He offered her his hand, but Tara remained frozen in her spot on the ground. After a few minutes the boy's lopsided smile fell from his face.

"Not too use to people helping you up huh?" He retracted his hand in began rubbing the back of his neck. "That's OK, I'm sure you can pick yourself up."

Tara snapped back to reality suddenly realizing she was still in fact on the ground.

"Um…yeah…right"

_Smoooooooth Tara…_

"Nice to meet you," the boy said looking down on her. "My name's Ron, Ron Stoppable, or at least that's what everyone keeps telling me."

* * *

><p><em>You may not know it. But you are needed for something very important<em>

_Aye, locked within you is something very unique_

_Something protective and deadly_

_It's what saved your life_

_And it's what also what may lead you to take the life of another_


End file.
